OPINION: Bad California ideas are infiltrating Idaho

Bad California ideas are coming to Idaho through the Trojan horse of open primaries, and Republicans in the Gem State need to wake up.

At first, the thought of an “open primary” sounds harmless enough.  

Consider how the opening line for the Idaho Open Primaries Initiative — “Idaho’s closed primary system blocks 270,000 independent voters from voting in the most important elections” — bolsters the initial appeal.  

After all, who wants to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of voters? 

But one major truth is missing from this statement: Primaries are not elections. 

Primaries are an opportunity for the members of each political party to choose their respective candidates to face off in the general election.  

Think about sports for a second. Would you want Fresno State choosing the starting lineup for Boise State? Absolutely not!  

Yet for some reason, a group of Idaho Republicans are willing to hand Democrats the power to choose their starting lineup and aren’t even flinching because they don’t realize what they’re agreeing to. 

After hearing how many registered “Democrat” and “No Party Preference” voters asked for Republican primary ballots last month by a close personal friend who served as a poll worker for their local precinct, I realized that I would no longer stay silent on this issue. 

As a former Californian who has seen open primaries in action, let me break down what’s being proposed here for Idaho — what Californians call the jungle primary.  

In a jungle primary, the top vote-getting candidates, regardless of party, will advance to the general election. 

At first glance, many Republicans may think this is a good thing. Why not have multiple Republicans go head to head in November in most areas?  

Therein lies the trap. 

Through open primaries, Democrats will slowly take greater control over Gem State politics as they build a coalition with more moderate or “squishy” Republican candidates that can flip seats historically held by more conservative Republican candidates. 

Democrats can also secretly recruit Republicans to run in swing district primaries, all with the intended goal of splitting the conservative vote among a number of Republican candidates so Democratic candidates can rise above and win elections.  

It’s no surprise to me that the announcement for the proposed open primary initiative came on the heels of California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s visit to Idaho last year, when he tweeted that it’s “incredibly inspiring to hear about the work (Idaho Democrats) are doing to push back against the GOP and build a bottom up approach to gain seats in their state house and beyond.” 

Idahoans should see through all of the spin and lies coming from leftist snake oil salesmen. If we don’t want Idaho turning into California, we must say “no” to open primaries. 

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Morgan MaGill is a California native who now serves as the communications manager for Idaho Family Policy Center, a ministry that advances the lordship of Christ in the public square by promoting God-honoring public policy, engaging the church, and training statesmen.