Janice McGeachin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Janice McGeachin
Janice McGeachin.jpg
43rd Lieutenant Governor of Idaho
Assumed office
January 7, 2019
GovernorBrad Little
Preceded byBrad Little
Member of the Idaho House of Representatives
from the 32nd district
In office
December 1, 2002 – December 1, 2012
Preceded byLarry Bradford (redistricting)
Succeeded byMarc Gibbs (redistricting)
Personal details
Born (1963-01-18) January 18, 1963 (age 58)
Las Cruces, New Mexico, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Jim McGeachin
Children2
EducationUniversity of Arizona (BS)
WebsiteOfficial website

Janice K. McGeachin (born January 18, 1963)[1] is an American politician and businesswoman currently serving as the 43rd lieutenant governor of Idaho since January 2019. A member of the Republican Party, she was previously a member of the Idaho House of Representatives from 2002 until 2012.[2]

Educated at the University of Arizona, McGeachin owned several businesses in Idaho Falls. She entered politics in 2002 when elected to a seat in the state house. She was elected lieutenant governor in the 2018 election, to serve alongside Governor Brad Little. She is the first female lieutenant governor of Idaho. She is a Republican candidate for governor of Idaho in the 2022 election.

Early life and education[]

McGeachin was born on January 18, 1963, in Las Cruces, New Mexico.[1] She graduated from Skyline High School in Idaho Falls and earned her Bachelor of Science degree in finance and accounting from the University of Arizona.[1]

Career[]

Business ventures[]

McGeachin has had a number of business ventures. She owns a restaurant in Idaho Falls and co-owns a wholesale automotive parts supply store and a torque converter remanufacturing facility with her husband.[3][4]

1998 to 2017[]

McGeachin unsuccessfully ran for Bonneville County commissioner in 1998, her first bid for elected office. As a Republican, she was a member of the Idaho House of Representatives from 2002 to 2012.[4][5][6][7] As chair of the state House Health and Welfare Committee, she cut Medicaid funding and voted against legislation to create a state-based health insurance exchange.[3] An ally of the Tea Party movement, McGeachin was considered a possible Republican primary challenger to U.S. Representative Mike Simpson in 2010, but chose not to run.[3]

McGeachin supported Mitt Romney in the 2008 Republican Party presidential primaries[8] and the 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries.[9]

McGeachin was a delegate for Donald Trump at the 2016 Republican National Convention, and was vice-chair of Trump's Idaho campaign committee.[10][11][12][13]

Lieutenant governor[]

Campaign and election[]

In April 2017, McGeachin filed to run for lieutenant governor of Idaho.[14] In the voter pamphlet she wrote, she hoped to help the governor "by increasing our freedoms and liberties, free from the bonds of excessive government regulations. The federal government has become too restrictive in how we teach our kids, manage health care, build our roads and manage our resources." Her candidacy was supported by state Senator Dean Mortimer.[11][15] McGeachin narrowly won the Republican primary election on May 15, 2018, with 28.9% of the vote, then defeated Democratic nominee Kristin Collum in the November general election.[16] During the 2018 campaign, McGeachin took security guards with her to a debate at the Idaho Public Television station in Boise, although there was no known threat against her, and characterized them as "friends."[3][17]

Far-right connections[]

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. The men wore shirts promoting Todd Engel, who was sentenced to prison in connection with the Bundy standoff fatal encounter with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF).[18] For the caption, she wrote "Sending love to Todd Engel from the Idaho Capital and 'getting to know' the new Senate Pages."[19][20] McGeachin faced public criticism for the photo and quickly deleted it.[18] 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."[21] The Idaho Falls Post Register editorial board criticized McGeachin for embracing the 3 Percenters and militia movement.[22]

"Indoctrination" task force and public records violations[]

In 2021, McGeachin convened an "education indoctrination task force" co-chaired by fellow Republican Priscilla Giddings. The committee was premised on the notion that "the scourge of critical race theory, socialism, communism, and Marxism" was "infiltrating" the Idaho school and college system.[23][24] Committee members discussed proposals to abolish the Idaho State Board of Education.[24] Idaho teachers described McGeachin's committee as a McCarthyist attack on teachers and a distraction from the challenges faced by Idaho's education system in reality.[24] The Idaho Statesman editorial board described the effort as "a manufactured witch hunt" driven by the "far-right fringe of Idaho's politics."[25]

In August 2021, a state judge fined McGeachin $750 for violating the Idaho Public Records Act by failing to turn over documents requested by the Idaho Press Club. The judge found that McGeachin acted "in bad faith" and that "It appears to the court that respondent would stop at nothing, no matter how misguided, to shield public records from the public."[26]

COVID-19 pandemic and strained relationship with Governor Little[]

Main article: COVID-19 pandemic in Idaho

As lieutenant governor, McGeachin has had a strained relationship with Governor Brad Little,[10][27] a fellow conservative Republican.[10] McGeachin frequently criticized Little's strategy regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.[28] The Associated Press noted that the clashes between the two occurred as intra-party disputes among Republicans regarding COVID-19 intensified, with "vaccinations, masks and nearly anything related to the coronavirus" marking "a de facto borderline between more traditional Republicans and the far-right."[29]

In May 2020, Little said he had not spoken to McGeachin in weeks.[30] During the pandemic, McGeachin repeatedly criticized Little for taking steps (such as closing physical businesses) to prevent the spread of the disease.[7][31] In late-April 2020, McGeachin urged reopening all businesses in Idaho by April 30,[32] and also spoke at a protest in eastern Idaho against stay-at-home directives.[33] 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."[31] By July 2020, after the state's economy had reopened, Idaho saw a spike in coronavirus cases.[31] 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.[28][34] At the rally, McGeachin criticized Little and other state officials.[28][34] In October 2020, McGeachin appeared in a video by the right-wing Idaho Freedom Foundation in which she wielded a gun and Bible, railed against COVID-19 public-health measures, and questioned whether "a pandemic may or may not be occurring."[35][36]

In November 2020, McGeachin submitted a proposal to Governor Little's Coronavirus Financial Advisory Committee, seeking to spend $17 million in federal COVID-19 aid funds to purchase and operate two "walk-through disinfectant cubes" at the Idaho state Capitol. McGeachin criticized the governor's coronavirus policies while touting the technology, although a National Institutes of Health study published months earlier determined that the use of "walk-through sanitation gates" was ineffective, possibly dangerous, and violates global health standards.[37]

In July 2020, McGeachin condemned federal economic relief granted during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, McGeachin's Idaho Falls-based business accepted two partially forgivable loans, totaling $314,727, from the federal Paycheck Protection Program. After the company's acceptance of the PPP funds was publicized, McGeachin said that the company accepted the funds to counter what she called harm "by the heavy hand of government in 2020."[38]

On May 27, 2021, after Little left the state to attend a Republican Governors' Association conference in Nashville, Tennessee (making McGeachin temporarily the acting governor), McGeachin issued an executive order that barred the state and Idaho counties, cities, public school districts, and public universities from adopting mask mandates.[29][27][39] McGeachin issued the order without consulting Little,[27] and against the wishes of state health officials who had sought a statewide mask mandate,[40] which Idaho has never had.[27] On his return to Idaho following day, Little rescinded McGeachin's order and said that her decision "to act solitarily on a highly politicized, polarizing issue without conferring with local jurisdictions, legislators, and the sitting Governor" was "simply put, an abuse of power."[27] Little said that McGeachin's order "unilaterally and unlawfully" forbade local officials from determining public-health policies in their own jurisdictions and would have forbidden the state from enforcing protective measures for social workers from making home visits to at-risk patients, or for employees in state testing labs.[27] Little also noted that her order duplicated a proposed bill that had failed to pass the state legislature.[27] In July 2021, when Little was out of state on a different trip, McGeachin wrote a letter to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, demanding information on what incentives Idaho healthcare providers may have "to impose vaccine mandates on their employees."[41]

By fall 2021, Idaho had among the nation's lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates,[42] and a surge in COVID-19 cases first strained, and then surpassed, the capacity of the state's health care system.[29][43] Overwhelmed by a surge of COVID-19 patients, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare activated "crisis standards" that allowed hospitals in the state to ration healthcare.[42][43] In August 2021, after announcing that she would challenge Little in the Republican primary for re-nomination as governor, McGeachin said that it was "shameful" for Little to ask Idahoans to show love for neighbors by getting vaccinated against COVID-19.[44] McGeachin also opposed a vaccine mandate, which Idaho does not have.[44][41]

2020 presidential election[]

McGeachin was an Idaho presidential elector for the Republican slate in 2020, casting one of Idaho's four electoral votes for Donald Trump; the other Idaho electors that year were Melinda Smyser, Raul Labrador, and Rod Beck.[45]

In December 2020, the month after Donald Trump lost the presidential election to Joe Biden, McGeachin, along with Little, Idaho's two Republican U.S. House members, and other Idaho Republican election officials, signed on to an amicus brief supporting Texas' attempt to overturn the results of the presidential election by rejecting millions of votes in four key states won by Biden.[46][47] Legal experts dismissed the suit as meritless,[47] and it was rejected by the Supreme Court.[48]

2022 candidacy for governor[]

Main article: 2022 Idaho gubernatorial election

In May 2021, McGeachin filed papers to run for governor of Idaho in 2022, challenging incumbent governor Brad Little in the Republican primary.[5][49] In announcing her candidacy, McGeachin attacked public health measures to combat the spread of COVID-19 and said that Idaho should reject federal funding to preserve "state sovereignty," although she did not give details.[5]

Political positions[]

McGeachin appeared at a rally for the Three Percenters, an anti-government militia movement group.[18] She opposes abortion, same-sex marriage, and gun control.[50] She opposes Medicaid expansion and was a leading opponent of 2018 Proposition 2, a voter initiative to expand Medicaid coverage to about 62,000 Idahoans, which drew 60% public support at the same time she was being elected.[3][50][51] She opposes minimum wages, believing that government should play no role in determining wages.[50] In the voter pamphlet, she contended, "The federal government has become too restrictive in how we teach our kids, manage health care, build our roads and manage our resources."[3]

Electoral history[]

2002

McGeachin and Republican Representative Larry C. Bradford were re-districted to 31A. McGeachin was unopposed for the Republican primary[52] and the general election.[53]

2004

McGeachin was unopposed for the Republican primary[54] and for the general election.[55]

2006

McGeachin was unopposed for the Republican primary.[56] She won the general election with 71.19% of the vote against Democratic nominee Scott Cannon.[57]

2008

McGeachin was unopposed for the Republican primary.[58] She won the general election with 73% of the vote against Scott Cannon.[59]

2010

McGeachin was unopposed for the Republican primary[60] and the general election.[61] She announced on February 24, 2012, that she would not be seeking re-election.[62][3]

2018

Idaho Lieutenant Governor Republican primary, 2018[16]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Janice McGeachin 51,098 28.9
Republican Steve Yates 48,269 27.3
Republican Marv Hagedorn 26,653 15.1
Republican Bob Nonini 26,556 15.0
Republican Kelley Packer 24,513 13.8
Idaho lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2018[63]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Kristin Collum 240,355 40.3%
Republican Janice McGeachin 356,507 59.7%
Total votes 596,862 100%

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c "House Membership: Janice K. McGeachin". Boise, Idaho: Idaho Legislature. Archived from the original on May 1, 2012. Retrieved July 15, 2012.
  2. ^ "Representative Janice K. McGeachin's Biography". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved July 15, 2012.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Alysha Love, 5 things to know about Idaho's 1st female lieutenant governor, Idaho Statesman, November 9, 2018. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Madeleine Coles, McGeachin says business experience will help her in lieutenant governor role, Associated Press (January 13, 2019).
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c Keith Ridler, Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin announces run for Idaho governor, Associated Press (May 19, 2021).
  6. ^ Statesman, Julia Frankel, Mara Hoplamazian and Malaika Tapper, of The Idaho. "GOP leaders in Idaho have ties to extremist movement". The Lewiston Tribune. Retrieved 2020-12-15.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b Rebecca Boone, Idaho healthcare leaders plead for coronavirus mask mandate, Associated Press (July 14, 2020).
  8. ^ "Mitt Romney-Idaho Organization". www2.gwu.edu. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  9. ^ "Idaho endorsements of Mitt Romney". aboutmittromney.com. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b c Justin Rohrlich, Idaho's Anti-Lockdown Lieutenant Governor Has Gone Rogue, Daily Beast (May 25, 2020).
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b "McGeachin hits campaign trail". Post Register. 2017-04-19. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
  12. ^ "McGeachin: Why I Support Donald Trump". East Idaho News. 2016-11-08. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  13. ^ "Republican National Convention approaches". Post Register. 2016-06-16. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  14. ^ "2 more candidates to run for Idaho lieutenant governor". AP News. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  15. ^ Falls, Idaho. "Janice McGeachin announces Lt. Governor candidacy". KPVI. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
  16. ^ Jump up to: a b "May 15, 2018 Primary Election Results: Statewide Totals". Idaho Secretary of State.
  17. ^ Candidate's security team seen as unusual for Idaho politics, Associated Press (October 24, 2018).
  18. ^ Jump up to: a b c Sewell, Cynthia (March 1, 2019). "Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin facing public condemnation over photo with 3 Percenters". Idaho Statesman. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  19. ^ Dawson, Dawson; Druzin, Heath (March 1, 2019). "Idaho Lieutenant Governor Faces Backlash For Photo Supporting Jailed Militiaman". Boise State Public Radio. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  20. ^ Lowe, Emily; Simmons, Tommy (March 1, 2019). "Idaho Lt. Gov. poses with protesters in support of standoff prisoner". Idaho State Journal. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  21. ^ Russell, Betsy Z. (March 1, 2019). "McGeachin in statement: 'I wholeheartedly reject bigotry and discrimination'". Idaho Press. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  22. ^ Editorial Board, Dangerous Embrace of the Militia Movement, Post Register (April 23, 2019).
  23. ^ Clark Corbin, McGeachin’s education task force discusses calls to disband State Board of Education, Idaho Capital Sun, via Idaho Statesman (August 1, 2021).
  24. ^ Jump up to: a b c Becca Savransky, 'A Very McCarthyism Feel': Idaho Teachers Say Indoctrination Task Force Stokes Fear, Idaho Statesman. Via EdWeek (July 29, 2021).
  25. ^ Editorial Board, Idaho's far-right 'indoctrination' witch hunt comes up short in Boise State investigation, Idaho Statesman (May 24, 2021).
  26. ^ Idaho Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin fined $750 over public record violations, KBOI-TV (August 26, 2021).
  27. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Derek Hawkins, Idaho lieutenant governor banned mask mandates while the governor was out of town. It didn't last, Washington Post, May 28, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  28. ^ Jump up to: a b c Heath Druzin, Low Turnout For COVID-19 Skeptic Rally Headlined By Idaho Lieutenant Governor, Boise State Public Radio (August 3, 2020).
  29. ^ Jump up to: a b c Rebecca Boone, 'Loss of hope': Idaho hospitals crushed by COVID-19 surge, Associated Press (September 3, 2021).
  30. ^ James Dawson, Gov. Little Says He Hasn't Spoken To Lt. Gov McGeachin In Weeks, Boise State Public Radio (May 6, 2020).
  31. ^ Jump up to: a b c Rebecca Boone, Cases of coronavirus in Idaho spike after businesses reopen, Associated Press (July 7, 2020).
  32. ^ Devin Ramey, Lt. Gov. McGeachin urges Gov. Little to reopen all businesses in Idaho by April 30, KTVB (April 21, 2020).
  33. ^ Activist apologizes after refusing to leave playground, Associated Press (April 26, 2020).
  34. ^ Jump up to: a b Ryan Blake, 'Freedom' rally in Twin Falls decries moderate Republicans, public education, masks and the media, Times-News (August 1, 2020).
  35. ^ Teo Armus, Idaho lieutenant gov. appears in video slamming virus rules, whether 'a pandemic may or may not be occurring', Washington Post (October 30, 2020).
  36. ^ Chris Cillizza, Republican infighting in Idaho over the coronavirus has reached a new low, CNN (October 29, 2020).
  37. ^ Idaho Lt. Governor promotes 'walk-thru disinfectant cubes', Associated Press (November 25, 2020).
  38. ^ Idaho lieutenant governor got pandemic loans for business, Associated Press (December 4, 2020).
  39. ^ Benito Baeza, Acting as Idaho Governor, Lt. Gov. McGeachin Signs Executive Order on Mask Mandates, KLIX (May 27, 2021).
  40. ^ Boone, Rebecca (July 27, 2020). "Idaho healthcare leaders plead for coronavirus mask mandate". Associated Press.
  41. ^ Jump up to: a b Idaho lieutenant governor keeps focus on vaccine mandates Keith Ridler. Associated Press. July 20, 2021.
  42. ^ Jump up to: a b Rebecca Boone, Idaho hospitals begin rationing health care amid COVID surge, Associated Press (September 7, 2021).
  43. ^ Jump up to: a b Meryl Kornfield, Idaho under statewide 'crisis standards' for rationing care, Washington Post (September 16, 2021).
  44. ^ Jump up to: a b Jacob Scholl, Idaho governor asks people to get COVID-19 vaccine. Lt. Gov. calls that 'shameful', Idaho Statesman (August 31, 2021).
  45. ^ Idaho's 4 electors cast votes for Trump and Pence, Associated Press (December 14, 2020).
  46. ^ "Motion For Leave (1) To File Brief Of Lieutenant Governor Janice Mcgeachin, Senator Lora Reinbold, Representative David Eastman, Et Al (Elected State Officials) As Amici Curiae In Support Of Plaintiff, And (2) To Do So In An Unbound Format On 8 1⁄2-By-11-Inch Paper, And (3) To Do So Without Ten Days' Advance Notice To The Parties" (PDF). US Supreme Court. December 10, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  47. ^ Jump up to: a b Hayley Harding (December 10, 2020). "Texas wants to overturn millions of votes. Idaho attorney general won't support it". Idaho Statesman.
  48. ^ Nomaan Merchant, Alanna Durkin Richer, Mark Sherman (December 12, 2020). "Supreme Court rejects Republican attack on Biden victory". Associated Press – via Idaho Statesman.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  49. ^ McGeachin becomes 7th candidate to file preliminary paperwork for run for governor in 2022, Idaho Press (May 19, 2021).
  50. ^ Jump up to: a b c Lieutenant governor candidates differ on Medicaid, wages, Associated Press (October 18, 2018).
  51. ^ Kimberlee Kruesi, Idaho Republicans push opposition to Medicaid expansion, Associated Press (June 29, 2018).
  52. ^ "2002 Primary Results legislative". www.sos.idaho.gov. Archived from the original on 2012-05-01. Retrieved 2017-06-02.
  53. ^ "2002 General Results legislative". www.sos.idaho.gov. Archived from the original on 2012-05-01. Retrieved 2017-06-02.
  54. ^ "2004 Primary Results legislative". www.sos.idaho.gov. Retrieved 2017-06-02.
  55. ^ "2004 General Results legislative". www.sos.idaho.gov. Retrieved 2017-06-02.
  56. ^ "2006 Primary Results legislative". www.sos.idaho.gov. Archived from the original on 2012-05-01. Retrieved 2017-06-02.
  57. ^ "2006 General Results legislative". www.sos.idaho.gov. Retrieved 2017-06-02.
  58. ^ "2008 Primary Results legislative". www.sos.idaho.gov. Archived from the original on 2012-05-01. Retrieved 2017-06-02.
  59. ^ "2008 General Results legislative". www.sos.idaho.gov. Archived from the original on 2012-06-16. Retrieved 2017-06-02.
  60. ^ "2010 Primary Results legislative". www.sos.idaho.gov. Retrieved 2017-06-02.
  61. ^ "2010 General Results legislative". www.sos.idaho.gov. Retrieved 2017-06-02.
  62. ^ Hurst, Dustin (Feb 24, 2012). "Days before filing begins, several candidates declare their intentions". Idaho Freedom Foundation. Retrieved Mar 2, 2019.
  63. ^ November 6, 2018 General Election Results: Statewide Totals, Idaho Secretary of State.
Political offices
Preceded by
Brad Little 		Lieutenant Governor of Idaho
2019–present 		Incumbent
Retrieved from ""