There will be plenty of new faces in the Idaho Legislature next January. Some of the currently most conservative representatives, however, will not be joining them.

Most notable among the missing will be current Rep. Chad Christensen, R-Iona, and Rep. Karey Hanks, R-St. Anthony. Both lost their Republican primary races last Tuesday. The pair were rated the No. 2 and No. 3 most conservative legislators in Boise by the far-right-wing Idaho Freedom Foundation (IFF) this year.

Hanks lost to a moderate Republican, Jerald Raymond of Menan. He is a former two-term representative who Hanks had defeated in 2020. Raymond works in the livestock business and has served as a president of the Idaho Cattle Association.

Christensen, who is in his second term in the Idaho House, lost a relatively close race, polling about 48 percent of the votes to about 52 percent for Josh Wheeler. Wheeler has served on the Ammon City Council and is the owner of Wheeler Electric, possibly the largest electrical contractor in Idaho.

While what sort of lawmaker Wheeler will be remains to be seen, his campaign website gives a clear indication. It reads in part, “I do not support policies that dismantle our Idaho public education system. I support increased compensation for educators. I strongly support policies that provide career technical education and connect students to the workforce. Vocational and university education should have equal weight and importance. The arts are a critical piece of our educational system.”

Also among the far-right legislators ousted on Tuesday were Rep. Greg Ferch, R-Boise, and Rep. Ron Nate, R-Rexburg. They were ranked the fifth and sixth most conservative legislators in Boise this year by the IFF.

Ferch has been serving his first term in what has been District 21. However, he was redistricted into Rep. John Vander Woude’s District 22 last fall. Vander Woude, a Nampa Republican, is serving his sixth term in the Legislature. Ferch lost to John Vander Woude 47 percent to 53 percent.

Nate, who is retired as a professor at BYU-Idaho, lost an extremely close race in Madison County to former Rep. Britt Raybould, R-Rexburg. Nate defeated her for his seat in the Legislature in 2020. This time around Raybould won, though only by 36 votes of over 5,200 cast.

Other far-right lawmakers who will be absent from the Legislature next year include Rep. Dorothy Moon, R-Stanley, and Rep. Priscilla Giddings, R-Whitebird. Moon ran for secretary of state but lost narrowly (by about 1.6 percent of over 200,000 votes cast) to Ada County clerk Phil McGrane. Moon had been ranked eighth most conservative by the IFF.

The race also included Sen. Mary Souza, R-Coeur d’Alene, so she won’t be in the Legislature next year either. Souza has served four terms in the Idaho senate.

Giddings lost her bid for lieutenant governor to current speaker of the house, Rep. Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, who because of his run for the new office won’t be in the Legislature either next year. Giddings was ranked 11th of the 105 Idaho legislators by the IFF this year.

Bedke and Souza were ranked almost equally by the IFF, 51st and 52nd in 2022. That puts them almost in the center, politically, of the Legislature.

Another centrist (for Idaho), three-term Rep. Scott Syme, R-Caldwell, appears to have lost to seven-term Rep. Judy Boyle, R-Midvale by just six votes. Boyle ranks 25th on the IFF scorecard. This race qualifies for a free recount and will get one.

The Idaho Senate has typically been the more moderate body in the Legislature. That may be changing. Besides Souza, eight relatively centrist senators lost Tuesday. In a body of 35 legislators, that is going to bring changes.

Dave Finkelnburg is a longtime Idahoan, a former newspaper journalist, and is currently semi-retired from an engineering career.