State Representative, Pos. B
Election Results
| Candidate | Votes | Pct |
|---|---|---|
| Ed Morse (R) | 13,545 | 63.28% |
| Dan English (D) | 7,861 | 36.72% |
* Race percentages are calculated with data from the Secretary of State's Office, which omits write-in votes from its calculations when there are too few to affect the outcome. The Spokane County Auditor's Office may have slightly different percentages than are reflected here because its figures include any write-in votes.
About the Race
This is the legislative seat that was held for the last four terms by Rep. Phil Hart, but Hart was defeated in the primary by GOP challenger Ed Morse. Now the contest for this seat is between Morse, a longtime area businessman, and Dan English, a longtime area nonprofit head and local elected official who for years was the only elected Democrat in Kootenai County government.
Idaho legislators are paid $16,116 per year.
The Candidates
Dan English
- Party:
- Democrat
- Age:
- 73
- City:
- Coeur d'Alene
- Occupation:
- Incumbent councilman, retired nonprofit board member and former Kootenai County clerk.
His words: "I take my time and look at different angles on the issues. I feel like I’ve got a whole lot of experience. … I've still got the desire, and energy and more time to focus. We’ve got a couple of projects that we’re in the middle of, that I certainly would like to keep working on."
His pitch: Coeur d'Alene's booming growth has led to several exciting development projects in town, English said, and he wants to stay on city government to help guide the returns on those investments. The city needs to continue to plan for the influx of retirees due to its national recognition as a top destination. A career working in nonprofits, criminal justice and in public service as the elected Kootenai County clerk have prepared English to continue serving a diverse cross-section of Coeur d'Alene's population.
Education: Graduated from Coeur d'Alene High School. Received a bacehlor's degree in criminal justice from San Jose State University in the mid-1970s. Received a master's degree in the mid-1980s from Gonzaga University.
Political experience: Kootenai County Clerk, 1995-2010; Coeur d’Alene City Council, 1993-95; Coeur d’Alene School Board, 1985-89.
Work experience: Worked for three decades as a licensed counselor. Former executive director of Habitat for Humanity of North Idaho and director of North Idaho College's Area Agency on Aging.
Family: Married to Cory English. Four children, eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Neighborhood: Bluegrass Park
Complete Coverage
Balance, compromise are topics in Idaho’s District 2
The ballot looks very different in North Idaho’s most Republican legislative district this fall, now that tax-protesting four-term state Rep. Phil Hart is out and an array of new candidates are jostling for attention. Democrats are challenging Republicans for all three of District 2’s seats this fall – the first time a Democrat has appeared on the ballot there since 2002. The last time one won was in 1994.
North Idaho candidates file campaign finance paperwork
BOISE – In the hard-fought GOP primary races in North Idaho’s Legislative District 2, campaign finance reports show that challengers have outraised two of the three incumbents, including tax-protesting Rep. Phil Hart. Hart has raised $6,738 for his campaign, while challenger Ed Morse has raised more than twice as much – $16,479 – and challenger Fritz Wiedenhoff has raised $7,748. That GOP primary also includes Ron Vieselmeyer, who trails with $3,791. Hart also reported a $31,827 outstanding debt to himself.
Three Idaho Republicans challenging Hart in race
Tax-protesting state Rep. Phil Hart may be the most controversial lawmaker in North Idaho, and his re-election bid for a fifth term in the state House has drawn a bevy of challengers in the May 15 GOP primary. It’s a far cry from the last election, in which Hart was unopposed both in the primary and on the general election ballot. But an unprecedented 20 percent of the vote went to a write-in challenger in the general election in 2010, after news broke about Hart’s court fights over back taxes and a 1996 timber theft case. He subsequently lost his seat on the House tax committee and gave up a vice chairmanship on the Transportation Committee to avoid House ethics sanctions.
Huckleberries: Kootenai County’s GOP barely sidestepped embarrassment
Jeff Ward saved the Kootenai County Republicans from themselves when he successfully opposed their plan for Richard Mack to speak at their Lincoln Day Dinner on March 24. Ward is a founder of the county’s Reagan Republicans organization. Mack is a controversial former Arizona sheriff and, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a darling of the militia, patriot and tea party movements. (Mack is now suing SPLC, claiming libel, slander and defamation.)