The District 28-A state representative seat is up for grabs following current Rep. Ken Andrus’ decision to not run for re-election.

Republican Randy Armstrong won the primary election in May 2016 with 48.57 percent of the vote. Tari Jensen received 18.32 percent, Kay Jenkins received 17.69 percent, and Lance Kolbet received 15.42 percent.

Armstrong’s opponent, Democrat Steve Landon, ran unopposed for the seat in the Democratic primary.

Armstrong, from Inkom, says the primary issue facing Idaho for him is the amount of regulation enforced onto Idaho citizens by the state government.

“The No. 1 issue is the preponderance of rules, laws and regulations that are just enslaving our people in every industry,” he said. “I’m in the financial services industry. We are just getting smothered with regulation. You talk to anybody in the farming industry and the agriculture industry. You talk to builders. You talk to anybody. It’s just layer after layer, and we’re choking ourselves.”

While Armstrong believes Idaho’s No. 1 priority is the over-regulation of government, Landon, of Pocatello, is of the opinion that the biggest problem in the state is education.

“Education in Idaho ranks at the bottom of the nation as far as education spending per student,” Landon said. “We’ve been that way going on 10 years now, and it never seems to get any better. So to me, we’ve got to do something to increase the spending in education and put a little bit more money into it, to pay teachers a little better and train teachers better to provide the kind of education our students deserve.”

When it comes to Idaho’s education, Armstrong — who serves on the Marsh Valley School District board of trustees — is also concerned. He didn’t, however, say education was at the top of his list.

“The state constitution mandates we fund education,” Armstrong said. “It’s already in the constitution, and the governor and the Legislature have a five-year plan in affect, and as I looked at it and saw what it did this year, it’s going to help. It’s exactly what we need.”

Landon, however, says the funding still isn’t enough.

“Right now, we’re only funding education at 2009 or 2010 levels,” he said. “We haven’t caught up with what happened before the recession. … You can’t just incrementally increase education funding year after year, because all you’re doing is keeping up with inflation.”

Other issues Landon sees include attracting businesses with good wages to Idaho, covering the health care gap and improving infrastructure. If elected, Landon says he hopes to work across the political spectrum to generate solutions and put plans in place to better Idaho.

“I’m a reasonably conservative Democrat with good ideas and a willingness to work for everybody and to be able to actually be their voice,” Landon said. “I want to go to Boise and be an expression of their views and be their voice. … I think that’s missing in the Legislature right now.”

Along with government over-reach and education, Armstrong believes Idaho’s issues include the downward direction of morals and the upholding of traditional Idaho values. If elected, he plans to always be wary of his constituents’ liberties and wallets. He is also endorsed by Andrus, the current District 28-A state representative.

“The reason people can feel confident in electing me to be a representative is I’ll always be mindful of their freedom in every decision I make,” Armstrong said.

Landon is a lifelong resident of the Pocatello/Chubbuck area, and he recently retired from a 43-year career at the J.R. Simplot Co. Armstrong was also born and raised in Pocatello and worked for Merrill Lynch — where he managed and budgeted large sums of money — for 39 years.