Idaho Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Risch, 83, has been in his position for nearly 20 years. In reliably red Idaho, he has won his previous general election contests by comfortable margins.
His independent challenger, former Boise Democratic state legislator Todd Achilles, 58, has raised nearly $700,000 this year and is arguing that he presents the alternative for people who aren’t happy with either party.
“I’m speaking to roomfuls of Republicans who are just tired of the Idaho GOP, and they’re ready for something new,” Achilles told the Idaho Capital Sun. “And I think they’re really excited about what we’re talking about in this campaign. There’s a lot of angry Republicans in Idaho right now.”
After the Democrat in the race, David Roth, ended his campaign late last month, Achilles has said his chances are better.
Risch said the race doesn’t feel any different.
“I know people are getting excited all of a sudden because I was running against two Democrats, and now I’m running against one Democrat,” Risch told the Sun, referencing that Achilles was a Democratic state legislator. “I’ve done that all my life.”
The candidates agree that unaffordable healthcare and the nation’s agricultural migrant worker visa program are problems that need to be addressed, and that Idaho’s public lands need to be protected. They differ greatly about how they want to go about addressing those issues.
Libertarian candidate Matt Loesby and independent Natalie Fleming are also running for the seat; neither candidate responded to requests for interviews. Roth has not yet filed the paperwork to formally withdraw from the race, the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office confirmed Tuesday. He has until Sept. 4 to do so, otherwise his name will still appear on the ballot.
Achilles wants to reform the Affordable Health Care Act. Risch wants to return it to private sector.
Risch and Achilles agree that healthcare affordability is a problem, and it’s something they hear about from voters.
“We talk about it all the time,” Risch said. “I think the problem, to be solved, the healthcare system is going to have to be moved significantly more back into the private sector.”
Risch said the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, is “a mess.”
I am always ranked as one of the most conservative U.S. senators, sometimes the most conservative U.S. senator. And that's because I consistently deliver a conservative vote, and as a result of that, they send me back to office every time because I do what I say I'm going to do. And man, have they got a clear choice to make this time.
– Idaho Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Risch, incumbent candidate running for re-election
“Whether you’re inside the system or whether you’re outside the system, people complain about it,” he said, “and it needs work, but it needs the private sector.”
Achilles said, “the Affordable Care Act is not working, it needs to be reformed.”
He criticized Congress for allowing the expiration of the enhanced premium tax credits, which were implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic to make insurance purchased through the statewide healthcare marketplace more affordable.
People purchasing this insurance with the credits received a boost in 2021, but the larger credit expired at the end of 2025 when Congress did not extend the program. The U.S. House voted on a bill to extend the enhanced credits, but it did not move forward in the Senate.
Risch is ‘all in’ on SAVE Act. Achilles says it’s ‘federal overreach’
The voter identification bill called the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE Act, is under consideration in the U.S. Senate. The bill includes specific voter ID requirements to prove citizenship to register to vote. It is currently illegal for people who aren’t citizens to register to vote or to vote in a federal election.
Risch said that Idaho’s elections are “rock solid safe.”
The vast majority of people in Idaho, we're all profoundly worried about the state of the federal government, Congress. What's happening with the country right now is not what any of us believe we should be doing. And we know it's not working like it should, and we need to fix it.
– Todd Achilles, independent candidate for U.S. Senate
“That is not true all over America, and we as Idahoans have the right to demand that other states do not allow people who are not citizens of this country to vote,” Risch said. “I’m all in on that. I’m all in on the Save Act.”
He said he wasn’t persuaded by the argument that the bill may limit eligible citizens’ ability to vote, such as married women who have changed their names. Risch said that argument was a “red herring.”
“That’s a manufactured complaint by people who are opposed to it,” he said. “If you’re going to go get a driver’s license, you’ve got to go get those documents. You can’t just walk in and say, ‘I’m here to get a driver’s license’ and not give them backup to document it. So I don’t buy that argument. … I’m not in favor of anything that keeps a person from voting who is eligible to vote.”
Achilles said Idaho already had appropriate identification requirements for voting.
“The SAVE Act is federal overreach,” Achilles said. “And I mean, everyone in the state rejects a federal gun registry. The SAVE Act is the equivalent of a federal voter registry. Same principle.”
Public lands protection is a top issue for both candidates
Risch and Achilles both named protection of Idaho’s vast public lands as a top priority.
Achilles said the federal agencies that manage those lands, such as the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service, need to be properly staffed.
“The first responsibility is: make sure we don’t sell any lands,” Achilles said. “The second responsibility is to make sure the agencies are resourced to actually take care of lands.”
He criticized massive staffing cuts at the Forest Service that took place to those agencies last year, led by the now-defunct Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which was spearheaded by billionaire Elon Musk. He also criticized reductions in staffing at the Bureau of Land Management. He said poor staffing is contributing to challenges during an active fire season this year.
Achilles said he supports raising the federal payments local governments received to offset lost revenue from the lack of property taxes collected on federal lands within their borders, called Payment in Lieu of Taxes, or PILT.
Risch also opposes the sale of public lands.
“It’ll be over my dead body that we sell off public lands,” Risch said.
He underscored his efforts to fight off a proposal year to sell off large swaths of public lands. He and two other members of Idaho’s four-member congressional delegation all opposed the sale, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported. Risch also underscored his work while he served as Idaho governor to craft Idaho’s own Roadless Rule — which was finalized in 2008 and outlines conservation and management of around 9 million acres of roadless federal lands in Idaho.
Idaho was the first state to adopt its own Roadless Rule. The Trump administration has taken steps to consider rescinding the federal Roadless Rule, but has exempted Idaho and Colorado — the two states with their own guidelines.
Risch acknowledged that management, especially in regard to wildfire prevention, could be better.
“We can do it better than what we have been, and we’re going to continue to work at it,” he said. “There’s no magic silver bullet for this.”
Candidates support immigration reforms for ag workers, disagree on other related policies
Risch said that work has been done for years to try and make changes to the nation’s immigration system. He said he supports legal immigration, and wants to improve the H-2A visa program for migrant agricultural workers. He said he supports the longtime effort of leaders in the Idaho dairy industry to change the program to allow the visa to be used for year-round work, instead of only temporary, seasonal work as it is now.
“We’re not getting enough in, but we pressure the administration to get the workforce here necessary,” Risch said, “because there are certain sectors in the agricultural economy that you can’t get Americans to do the work, and you’ve got to have an immigrant force to do it.”
He said his issue with proposals in the past is they would create a path to citizenship for those who entered the U.S. illegally.
“That is a non-starter for us,” he said of himself and many other Republicans.
Achilles highlighted the 2013 bipartisan immigration reform bill, H.R. 744, which would’ve made a number of changes to boost support for border patrol and immigration enforcement as well as made significant changes to the legal immigration process. Risch and his Senate counterpart Idaho Republican Sen. Mike Crapo voted against the 2013 legislation.
“That got politicized,” Achilles said of the bill. “The same principles apply now. We still don’t have a working immigration system. We still don’t have a working visa system, and it’s been that way for you know the entire time he’s been in the Senate. So somebody needs to get this addressed.”
Achilles said he also supports making changes to the H-2A program to allow for year-round labor.
“Any policy we do has got to be centered on livable livable-wage jobs for Idahoans first,” he said. “And if then they can’t get filled, then you can make them available to a visa system, and the producer could be accountable for any guest workers that come out of the country.”
Is this race more competitive than past Idaho U.S. Senate elections?
Between Risch’s first general election contest for U.S. Senate in 2008 and his last one in 2020, he has won with at least 58% of the vote each time. In 2020, he defeated Democrat Paulette Jordan, the independent Fleming, and Constitution Party candidate Ray Writz with 62.6% of the vote, according to records from the Idaho Secretary of State.
Achilles argues that his campaign presents a more serious challenger in deep red Idaho than Risch has had before.
He said negative messaging he’s seen about his campaign that didn’t mention other candidates is “a good sign that they’re taking it seriously.”
“But even if they’re not, that’s their mistake,” he said.
The Achilles campaign has raised $692,245.06 in contributions and spent just over $500,000 of that, according to Federal Election Commission data as of Aug. 4. Achilles has contributed $10,500 from himself toward the campaign.
Risch’s campaign has garnered more than $4.4 million, FEC data as of Aug 4 showed. Risch said this race “doesn’t feel any different at all” from his past races.
Achilles said he believes he’s the more conservative candidate, pointing to the increasing national debt over the years. He criticized Risch’s vote to confirm Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News host and Army National Guard veteran with limited military leadership experience compared to his predecessors, and initial vote to not release files related to the investigation of Jeffrey Epstein.
“Why is he doing absolutely nothing about this ridiculous corruption that’s happening within this administration?” Achilles said. “There’s nothing conservative about looking the other way when you know people are stealing taxpayer dollars. So, the reality is I’m the better conservative candidate in this race.”
Risch said Achilles’ votes on a number of issues during his time in the state Legislature were “exactly the opposite,” of how the senator would’ve voted. He included votes such as Achilles voting against: House Bill 93, which allowed for the first time in Idaho state funding to go to private K-12 education; HB 32 to prohibit any government entity from creating a mask mandate; and HB 83, which created new state-level immigration crimes and penalties.
“I represent the most conservative state in America,” Risch said. “I am always ranked as one of the most conservative U.S. senators, sometimes the most conservative U.S. senator. And that’s because I consistently deliver a conservative vote, and as a result of that, they send me back to office every time because I do what I say I’m going to do. And man, have they got a clear choice to make this time.”
The race has been marked by a billboard dispute, age-related questions, and dueling polls
Amid the race, there’s been contradictory polls, a campaign billboard taken down, and a major emphasis by Achilles about Risch’s age.
On May 4, the Achilles campaign sent a press release about a billboard it had paid for that said “Happy 83rd Birthday” to Risch had been removed. The billboard company leased a parcel of land in Boise owned by an investment company run by Risch and his wife Vicki.
“It looks like Senator Risch proudly stands for free speech — as long as it’s speech he agrees with,” Achilles said in the press release.
Risch told the Sun he “didn’t really care” about the billboard and that he wasn’t the one to request its removal.
“The company that did it, the property’s rented to a billboard agency, and they put the thing up,” he said. “When they found out about it, they went out and took it down. I didn’t ask them to take it down.”
Achilles, told the Sun in an interview that he’s concerned about Risch’s age. One of his priorities is to set an age limit of 72 for members of Congress.
“Sen. Risch is the oldest, wealthiest senator in Idaho history,” Achilles said. “He’s had a good run, but it’s time for somebody new.”
Risch said, “there’s nothing I can do about it,” regarding his age.
“It is a high-energy job,” he said. “There’s no question about it. I’m incredibly active. Have been all my life. … I’m not going to apologize for the people of Idaho sending me back there over and over again.”
The Achilles campaign on June 4 released results from a poll of 774 registered voters in Idaho. The survey first asked respondents to pick among Risch, Achilles, and the Democrat David Roth. Roth has since dropped out of the race.
It did not include the other independent candidate Fleming or the Libertarian Loesby. The first results showed Risch winning with 41% of those polled choosing him.
The survey questions later highlight Risch’s connection to the confirmation of Bureau of Land Management Director Steve Pearce, “who has a record of supporting the sale of public lands,” Risch’s age, and that “technology and artificial intelligence are rapidly changing the Idaho economy and American workforce.”
The survey then provides a paragraph of information about Achilles’ background and his priorities. Survey respondents later chose Achilles with 39% of the vote in a three-way race. In a head-to-head contest between Risch and Achilles, 51% of survey respondents selected Achilles.
On June 11, the Risch campaign released its own survey results from 500 “likely general election voters” in Idaho. The poll asked voters to choose among all of the candidates with no additional information about them. Poll respondents selected Risch as their top choice with 55% of the vote, Roth receiving 15%, and Achilles getting 7%.
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