Bayview resident enters congressional race as Independent

On Nov. 10, Sarah Zabel of Bayview entered the race for U.S. Congress in Idaho’s First Congressional District as an Independent.

The retired Air Force major general had seen lawlessness in her decades of military service. She’d seen failed government and authoritarianism, but not in the U.S. With federal troops entering American cities as the federal government shutdown shattered records, she said she'd had enough. 

“Both parties are letting us down,” Zabel said in a Nov. 13 announcement. “We have real problems that have grown over decades, and neither party is willing to fix them. Our government is practicing dysfunction, and it’s hurting Idahoans and people across the U.S. and the world. And it’s unnecessary. We know how to deal with these problems.”

Born in California and raised in Arizona and Texas, Zabel considers herself to be from the West. After graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1987, she embarked on a career as a communications and cyber operations officer. Zabel retired in 2018 as a major general and settled in Bayview.

Though registered as a Republican throughout her military career, on leaving the service Zabel became an Independent.

“I just can’t agree with what either party is doing,” she said in the news release. “Both sides have lost touch with what people need and value. Though I respect the experience and dedication that our public servants brought to Washington, D.C., they’re simply not representing us anymore. We need a change.”

Zabel said her platform emphasizes solving the nation’s problems with a forward-looking agenda. With a year to go before the general election, Zabel is reaching out throughout the district to understand Idahoans’ needs and views, according to the news release.

“My platform is under construction while we shape it to our time and place,” she said, “but it starts with competence. We know how to fix these problems; fairly, legally and effectively. We’ve done it before. We can do it again.”

Info: zabelforcongress.com