State Senator, Republican Primary
Election Results
| Candidate | Votes | Pct |
|---|---|---|
| Shawn Keough (R) | 1,279 | 58.59% |
| Glenn Rohrer (R) | 904 | 41.41% |
* 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.
The Candidates
Shawn Keough
- Party:
- Republican
- Age:
- 64
- City:
- Sandpoint, Idaho
Education: Graduated from Walnut Hills High School, Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1978. Attended North Idaho College and Lewis-Clark State College.
Political background: Incumbent state senator, seeking re-election for an 11th two-year term. Elected to the Senate every two years since 1996.
Work experience: Executive director of the Associated Logging Contractors for the past 16 years. Previously worked for 12 years as timber information program manager for the Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce. Before that, managed restaurants and bars in North Idaho.
Family: Married. Has two adult children and two grandchildren.
Glenn Rohrer
- Party:
- Republican
- City:
- Priest River, Idaho
A retired industrial engineer and plant manager and a retired Air National Guard major, Rohrer is a former planning and zoning administrator for the city of Priest River. Rohrer opposes the uniform child support enforcement bill whose failure forced a special session of the Legislature in 2005; he called the day an amended version of the bill passed “a sad day for freedom in Idaho.” He also wants to cut taxes and regulations and opposes allowing state parks to accept corporate sponsorships for projects within parks, which the Legislature has approved. He promotes a "Retire Shawn Keough" website that claims incumbent Keough isn't really a Republican, though District 1 voters have elected her as a Republican 10 times since 1996.
Complete Coverage
Huckleberries: Idaho’s driver’s license rules ageist
Councilman Dan English of Coeur d’Alene consoled himself last week while waiting and waiting – and waiting –for his turn to renew his driver’s license. At least, Dan thought, he would pay extra and receive a license that was good for eight years, instead of four. But that’s an option in Idaho only if you’re under age 62. Dan no longer is. So, like a teenager getting his first license, Dan was rewarded for his long wait with a four-year one. “I hope some ‘seasoned’ legislator is reading this and plans to right this (wrong) next session,” lamented Dan on his Facebook wall afterward. “Haven’t they heard that the sixties are the new forties?” No, but we now know that for those 62 and up four is the new eight at the DMV. Also tired of waiting
Huckleberries: Closed Republican primary in Idaho attracts Democrats
The strategy by conservative hardliners to close the Idaho GOP primary may have backfired.
Three North Idaho lawmakers backed by Idaho Freedom Foundation lose seats in Idaho primary
Three North Idaho lawmakers lost their seats in Tuesday’s primary election. The three – Reps. Kathy Sims, R-Coeur d’Alene, and Shannon McMillan, R-Silverton; and Sen. Sheryl Nuxoll, R-Cottonwood – have something in common: They’re all among the top 10 scorers in the Idaho Freedom Foundation’s “Freedom Index.” The conservative lobbying group launched a new campaigning arm this year, Idaho Freedom Action, and pushed hard to boost lawmakers like these three and take out other Republicans it deemed too moderate. But the push largely failed.
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.
Repeal of Idaho’s fee on hybrid cars may be dead
Legislation to repeal an unpopular $75 annual fee on hybrid vehicles that Idaho lawmakers passed last year may be dead for this year, unless House Transportation Chairman Joe Palmer belatedly decides to give the Senate-passed bill a hearing.
Idaho Senate passes bill to limit homeowner’s exemption
Idaho’s long-prized homeowner’s exemption from property tax would lose its inflation index, under legislation that won final passage in the state Senate late Tuesday and now heads to the governor’s desk.
‘All business’ approach will compete with pre-election posturing in Idaho Legislature
BOISE – When the Idaho Legislature convenes Monday, it will face a push-pull between two competing goals for the session: A desire for a quick, “all-business” session that wraps up well before the May primary election, versus a desire to roll out hot-button issues on which lawmakers want to stake out stands before they seek re-election.
New JFAC Co-Chair Keough says she’ll be ‘responsible,’ ‘prudent’
Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, the newly appointed co-chair of the Legislature’s Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee said Monday, “It’s a wonderful appointment – I’m very honored.” Keough, who long served as vice-chair to then-Senate Finance Chair Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, said, “I feel like I have some pretty…
Keough named JFAC co-chair; Sen. Dan Johnson to be her vice-chair
Republican state Sen. Shawn Keough of Sandpoint has been appointed to co-chair Idaho’s powerful budget-setting committee. President Pro Tem Brent Hill of Rexburg on Monday announced that Keough will replace former Sen. Dean…
What I have learned from Senator Cameron
John T. Reuter, a former Sandpoint City Councilman, and the executive director of Conservation Voters for Idaho, penned this column for the Inlander. The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee is by far the most powerful committee in the Idaho Legislature. Made up of 10 state senators and 10 state representatives, it is charged with setting the state’s budget each year — subject to a vote by the full bodies of each chamber. For more than a decade, JFAC has been co-chaired by the capable hands (and minds) of Sen. Dean Cameron and Rep. Maxine Bell. The pair come from the same eastern Idaho region and have built a partnership based on trust, fiscal responsibility and a deep friendship.