State Representative, position B

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.”