He replaced Knopp, following his withdrawal from the task force. A few challengers ran spendy races and unseated Statehouse incumbents. Branden Durst hopes to win the May 17 GOP state superintendents primary by running against all things Sherri Ybarra and Debbie Critchfield. "[6][21], In February 2019, McGeachin posted a photo on her Facebook page of her posing in front of her Idaho State Capitol door with two members of the 3 Percenters, an anti-government militia movement group. 30 talking about this. BOISE (Idaho Statesman) Idaho Lt. Gov. Because of some of the media attacks Ive had recently, I asked him for some advice, McGeachin recalled. Full Name: Janice K. McGeachin Gender: Female Family: Husband: Jim; 2 Children: Liza, James Birth Date: 01/18/1963 Birth Place: Las Cruces, NM Home City: Idaho Falls, ID Religion: Christian Education keyboard_arrow_down Political Experience keyboard_arrow_down Caucuses/Former Committees keyboard_arrow_down The state has also paused vendor payments from McGeachin's office, and McGeachin has told state officials to withhold her salary and benefits to avoid a budget shortfall. [1], McGeachin has had a number of business ventures. The Republican is the first sitting governor in more than 30 years to refuse to take part in the Idaho Debates, which air statewide on Idaho Public Television. He founded the congregation, according to its website, after he went on a solo, three-day horseback ride through five Idaho counties to connect with God and receive his guidance. We need you, youre a fighter, she said, spurring McGeachin to dash on stage to embrace her booster. When they passed gay marriage, they opened Pandoras box. He recently served as principal of Marsh Valley Middle School in East Idaho, but split from the school after one school year after signing a separation agreement May 13, a week before his membership on the task force was announced, EdNews reported. McGeachins office previously said he has worked in school administration and social work. | Sarah A. Miller smiller@idahostatesman.com. Rogers is outspoken that the 2020 election was stolen, and after making antisemitic statements and calling for the public hanging of political foes in an AFPAC speech was censured by the Arizona Legislature in March. Politics isnt always viewed as a place for girls. The makeup of Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin presented her 10-point gubernatorial platform for her first 100 days in office during a press conference on the Idaho Capitol steps in March. She unsuccessfully challenged Little in the Republican primary for governor in the 2022 election. McGeachin speech played at conference organized by white nationalist, McGeachin delivers taped speech to white nationalist meeting, McGeachins education task force discusses calls to disband State Board of Education, 'A Very McCarthyism Feel': Idaho Teachers Say Indoctrination Task Force Stokes Fear, Idaho's far-right 'indoctrination' witch hunt comes up short in Boise State investigation, ISBA rep leaves indoctrination task force, decrying 'partisan campaigning', Idaho Lt. Gov. During her time at Skyline High, McGeachin was a member of the schools choreographed drill team, involved in student council and also voted homecoming royalty. Janice McGeachin and her husband, Jim, stand on the steps of the Idaho State Capitol as she announced her run for Governor in Boise on May 19, 2021. At a March rally in southeast Boise for semi-truckers headed to Washington, D.C., to protest pandemic-related restrictions, McGeachin defended her fiery platform and her supporters to the crowd gathered on a small lawn next to a highway offramp truck stop. In the second, in October, she prohibited public schools and the states Department of Education from requiring COVID-19 testing or vaccinations. I admit, to a certain extent, it was a little bit surprising, Little told the Statesman during an April phone interview, adding he didnt know why Trump endorsed his chief rival. Delivering the phone back to McGeachins daughter, he has some advice. Shes marvelous. The unorthodox move was a big part of why she became a passionate McGeachin supporter, and now helps organize some of her campaign events. Late last week, Idaho Lt. During one of her final pitches to voters, McGeachin closely followed the path laid out before her by right-wing conservatives in the Trump era. Janice McGeachin in her bid for governor, held May 4 at Julius M. Kleiner Memorial Park in Meridian. Ive been pregnant twice. [13], McGeachin was a delegate for Donald Trump at the 2016 Republican National Convention, and was vice-chair of Trump's Idaho campaign committee. The bartender uses a backwards-facing spoon to pour each alcohol into the glass in layers and prevent them from mixing, before handing out the drinks to curious recipients. McGeachin remembers the city back then as a great place to grow up a small and supportive community. Janice McGeachin, 57, received $314,727 through two different PPP loans for J.R. McGeachin Inc in April . Also joining were nationally known special guests freedom fighters, as McGeachin dubs them including former Fox News commentator Michelle Malkin and Arizona state Sen. Wendy Rogers, who each endorse McGeachin. Janet Adams is a retired Coeur dAlene lawyer. In the past, shes advocated for a sex education opt-in bill and has decried Common Core standards, at one point saying curriculum and textbook providers use Common Core to recommend pornographic books for use in schools, EdNews previously reported. Machele Hamilton, the state GOP vice chair and a close friend to McGeachin, said that approach is one of the qualities she admires most about the lieutenant governor. Professor Scott Yenor is a professor of political philosophy at Boise State University. She owns an Irish pub in Idaho Falls and co-owns a wholesale automotive parts supply store and a torque converter remanufacturing facility with her husband. Jason Knopp is the vice chairman of the Melba School Districts board. [43] In August 2020, McGeachin headlined a rally organized by the right-wing, conspiracist John Birch Society at the rally in Twin Falls, where speakers decried public health measures to combat the coronavirus. Its pronounced Ma-Gee-in.. Shortly after taking office, she posted and hastily deleted a photo to Facebook posing in front of her Capitol office with two men flashing the movements hand gesture. The family spends leisure time skiing, camping and playing golf, although McGeachin calls herself more of a hacker out on the fairways. About halfway through, he reminded attendees about various forms of sin in the eyes of God. McGeachin told the Statesman she didnt issue the orders thinking the governor would automatically reverse her statewide decrees. Sometimes, a contrarian candidate wins in a closed Republican primary. Beck, who also has penned several newspaper op-eds defending McGeachin, told the Statesman he backs her because shes honest, transparent and conservative.. The family who drinks together stays together, right? the bartender says. [70], McGeachin is part of the far-right wing of the Republican Party. [22] In a subsequent statement, McGeachin described the men as "two Second Amendment supporters who were here to support Todd Engel, an Idahoan who was treated unjustly by the court system," and said that she deleted the post after "a few people had begun erroneously assigning sinister motives which are contrary to my true character. [71] Of Idaho's 44 counties, McGeachin carried just four, all in the Idaho Panhandle. [29] McGeachin's speech to the conference was criticized by Democrats and some Republicans for its antisemitic and pro-Putin contents. McGeachins family businesses, particularly the pub, have become targets for harassment, she said, on account of her political ideology. She found herself embroiled in controversy when she posted - and deleted - a photo on her Facebook page that appears to show her. [29], In 2021, McGeachin convened an "education indoctrination task force" co-chaired by fellow Republican Priscilla Giddings. Heres what we know about the members so far: Anna Miller, from the Idaho Freedom Foundation, is an active voice in education policy discussions. Its not all about I am woman, hear me roar, she said. "Critical Race Theory (CRT) is a religion of . She does get national exposure for our state, and, at least in my opinion, it hasnt been to the benefit of the state as a whole.. The Foundation stirred upheaval in this years legislative session over leftist indoctrination in the classroom, an effort that stalled education budgets. She also inquired with the Idaho National Guard about ordering troops to the U.S.-Mexico border that Little was visiting. Clearly the campaign believes its an important credential to highlight, she added. Idaho Lt. Gov. McGeachin also garnered criticism after federal records revealed that she applied for and received more than $314,000 in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, even though she previously said she is opposed to government programs that foster dependency. In a social media post, she defended accepting the coronavirus relief payments for her familys businesses, saying that their employees needed the funds because they had been harmed by government shutdowns and other public health requirements. Brian Myrick / Idaho Press. McGeachin. Janice McGeachin, as Senate president, presides over a session in March. I know she liked to have a good time, said Sen. Jim Patrick, R-Twin Falls, who served three terms with McGeachin in the House and used to rent a place on the same floor of a building three blocks from the Capitol. In recent months, she has testified in favor of policies targeting critical race theory and social justice in the classroom, at one point saying a controversial bill dealing with critical race theory did not go far enough to oust the content from public schools. It now acts as the nerve center for Republican Janice McGeachins upstart political ambitions for governor. [38] Little also noted that her order duplicated a proposed bill that had failed to pass the state legislature. McGeachin was born Janice Kyes on January 18, 1963, in Las Cruces, New Mexico. A political philosophy professor and a former Idaho State Board of Education president also sit on the 14-member assembly. He spoke about the forgotten man in this country and how the government in Washington, D.C., was too beholden to the corporations and the special interests and that we needed to return the government back to the people, McGeachin said. Ive said many times, Id jump in front of a bus for her, she told the audience at the winery fundraiser. Janice McGeachin fined $750 over public record violations, Lt. Gov. The federal government has become too restrictive in how we teach our kids, manage health care, build our roads and manage our resources." In February, McGeachin made national headlines after she appeared in a recorded video at a right-wing political event founded by a man who has repeatedly made antisemitic statements and is associated with white supremacists, according to a U.S. Department of Justice court filing. Where men are men, and sheep are scared! Jimmy McGeachin belts back, a joke about bestiality. A spokesperson for Little said staff has no record or recollection of Henry contacting the governors office. Members of her initiative claimed, without substantiation, that Idaho schoolchildren were being indoctrinated. After four meetings, the task force delivered a set of vague recommendations. During her segment, she listed Americans inalienable rights while seated in the drivers seat of a truck brandishing a Bible, and then a handgun. 2023 Idaho Ed News. Ive made my statements about who I am and what I believe in, McGeachin told the Idaho Statesman in a sit-down interview. On May 17, the day Marsh Valley signed off on the separation, the Buhl School Districts board voted to hire Moffett to be president of the districts 34-student alternative high school, Wakapa, according to meeting minutes obtained by EdNews. Fundraising allowed some successful statewide candidates to dominate the airwaves. Idaho Lt. Gov. McGeachin has the endorsement, which is something she has really highlighted in her campaign materials. Henry, a former Boise School District junior high teacher, said her 12-year-old daughter was bullied and beaten up, and their home address released online, leading to stalking, death threats and two break-in attempts. McGeachin was unopposed for the Republican primary[76] and the general election. She protested at rallies, in direct violation of the orders, before showing up to the reopening of a brewpub in North Idaho that defied the governors requirements. Under her vision for the state, McGeachin said, businesses and churches will never be forcibly closed, as happened during the stay-at-home order out of concern for public health. He can be reached by email at [emailprotected]. A cadre of Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group with links to white supremacy, also stalked the grounds. Its not enough to just silently nod along, McGeachin told rallygoers. McGeachin not only listened to her and other parents, Henry said, but also their children. Idaho is one of 20 U.S. states that has never had a female governor. His lieutenant governor took power and banned state vaccine mandates. One more for prosperity.. [6], McGeachin supported Mitt Romney in the 2008 Republican Party presidential primaries[12] and the 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries. Defend & Protect Idaho said the effort is a response to what they call rising instances of dangerous extremism and militia mentality around the state, and McGeachins ties to them. [45] In a May 2020 editorial, McGeachin wrote that, "I lose sleep at night because the heavy hand of our government is hurting so many Idahoans. Janice McGeachin said Wednesday she was running for governor of Idaho . Supporters and opponents acknowledge, though, she and her growing persona are anything but, with McGeachin increasingly invoking militarized rhetoric and a blend of patriotism and faith as rival political factions signal an intensifying culture war.