State Representative, position B
Election Results
Candidate | Votes | Pct |
---|---|---|
Sage G. Dixon (R) | 15,485 | 68.59% |
Stephen Howlett (D) | 7,090 | 31.41% |
* 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
Since defeating longtime Rep. George Eskridge in the GOP primary two years ago, Rep. Sage Dixon has quietly staked out a position on the farthest-right end of Idaho’s political spectrum. He proudly boasts on his campaign website of his visit to the occupiers at the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in Oregon; and famously said during this year’s House debate on a Bible-in-schools bill, “The little Supreme Court in my head says this is OK.” GOP Gov. Butch Otter vetoed the bill, saying it directly violated the Idaho Constitution. A home-schooling advocate who favors transferring federal public lands to the state, Dixon has sponsored legislation to created a “Friends of the NRA” specialty license plate and, with help from District 1 Sen. Shawn Keough, to allow beer-tasting rooms to admit minors if they’re accompanied by a parent, as wineries already can do.
His Democratic challenger, Stephen Howlett, won a rare write-in victory in the primary, after the longtime local Democratic Party activist became alarmed that Dixon’s only challenger was a tea party conservative running on the Democratic ticket; Dixon was unopposed in the GOP primary. “He’s not representing the silent majority of Democrat or Republican Idahoans – he’s representing a small majority with an agenda of ultra-right conservatives, and their direction is contrary to what I would call typical Idaho beliefs,” Howlett said. Howlett favors investing in education and economic development. “I support the traditional drivers of our economy, sustainable agriculture, mining, timber, manufacturing, while working to attract new jobs in technology, renewable energy and tourism,” he said. “Idaho workers deserve a living minimum wage that allows them to prosper.”
The Candidates
Sage G. Dixon
- Party:
- Republican
- City:
- Ponderay, Idaho
Education: Attended San Jose State University as a finance major.
Political background: Incumbent state representative; elected in 2014, and now seeking re-election to a second term.
Work experience: Has owned an electrical contracting business in Bonner County for eight years. Previously worked as superintendent at an electrical contracting firm.
Family: Married. Has seven children, two in college and five still being home-schooled.
Stephen Howlett
- Party:
- Democratic
- Age:
- 73
Education: Graduated from Wakefield High School, Wakefield, Mass., in 1969.
Political background: Has served as a Democratic Party precinct captain in Boundary County for 12 years. Served as chairman of the Parks and Recreation Board for Boundary County for 17 years, a volunteer position.
Work experience: Worked for the Colorado Transportation Department for one year, then moved to Idaho and worked in wood products retail sales for one year. Then moved to Bonners Ferry. Worked in management in retail lumber for 10 years at Diamond Lumber. Has been a self-employed building and remodeling contractor for 28 years. Worked as a volunteer EMT for the Boundary County Volunteer Ambulance Association for 18 years.
Family: Married. Has one daughter and two grandchildren.
Complete Coverage
Pols: Harassment claims ‘believable’
Claims of election-related intimidation and harassment in North Idaho’s Bonner and Boundary counties haven’t been confirmed by authorities, but for some local politicians, both Republican and Democrat, the claims are believable and reflective of hardened political views, writes S-R reporter Eli Francovich in today’s Spokesman-Review.
District 1: Politics heat up in Idaho’s northernmost legislative district
In Idaho’s northernmost legislative district, the legislator who made headlines when she displayed the Confederate battle flag at a local parade and visited occupiers of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge standoff in Oregon is fighting for re-election in a race that’s drawing attention across the state. Controversial Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard…
Politics heat up in Idaho’s District 1 legislative races
Controversial Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard, a first-term lawmaker who made a splash by visiting the occupiers at the Malheur Wildlife Refuge standoff in Oregon and displaying a Confederate battle flag during a local parade, is being challenged by Kate McAlister, president of the Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce, and the contest has focused much attention on Idaho’s northernmost legislative district.
Malloy: Dems target Redoubter Scott
In his Idaho Politics Weekly column, Chuck Malloy wonders if the Christian Redoubters who have moved into Bonner and Boundary counties can save their favorite candidate, state Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard. Scott’s race against Democrat Kate McAlister will show how much staying power the Redoubt movement has.
Of District 1 legislative races, the ‘American Redoubt’ and politics in North Idaho…
In Idaho’s northernmost legislative district, Republican Party politics has been pulled farther to the right in recent years with the rise of the tea party. But now a new element is pushing the party farther still: the arrival of conservative Christian “preppers” fleeing more populated states, who see the region as a “redoubt” – a place to…
Redoubt movement helps push North Idaho politics to extreme right
In Idaho’s northernmost legislative district, Republican Party politics has been pulled farther to the right in recent years with the rise of the tea party. But now a new element is pushing the party farther still: the arrival of conservative Christian “preppers” fleeing more-populated states, who see the region as a “redoubt” – a place to settle and defend themselves when the whole country goes bad.
Idaho lawmakers pass Bible-in-schools bill, dismiss constitutional questions
Legislation saying the use of the Bible as a reference in Idaho’s public schools is “expressly permitted” passed the Idaho House on Monday and headed to the governor’s desk, though a February Idaho Attorney General’s opinion concluded it likely would be overturned in court, as it’s “specifically prohibited” by the Idaho Constitution.
Idaho lawmakers speak out on their visit to standoff in Burns
Three Idaho lawmakers spoke out Tuesday about their visit over the weekend to armed protesters who have taken over a federal wildlife refuge near Burns, Ore., saying the protesters’ grievances were being ignored before their “fact-finding mission.”