This election is not the last time you will see me–far from it.

I have already begun working on to build an initiative campaign regarding abortion rights in Idaho. Women in Idaho will not stand silent as the State and a minority of extremists force us to carry unwanted pregnancies by outlawing abortion services. Stay tuned.

Of course, I am disappointed at the outcome, but I leave this 15 month campaign enriched by the thousands of new friends I made. It was an honor to have your vote. I am thankful for the volunteers, the hardworking staff at the Idaho Democratic Party, the supportive Democratic elected officials, and nearly 1,500 people who donated their hard-earned funds to make this race competitive.

It’s too early to completely unpack what went well and what needed improvement. When I do, I will certainly share my knowledge with other candidates who are willing to stand up to the extremism taking root in Idaho. I will do all I can to support candidates who value responsible, transparent, and balanced government.

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I knew I could be a rational voice in the Capitol. I could stop the chaos. I could stand up to extremists. My values of honesty, fairness, and courage would guide me.

Now, I am running against House Speaker Scott Bedke. He eked out a 51% primary win over a deeply flawed opponent. Mr. Bedke is unpopular because he spent 20 years ignoring the public’s needs while lavishing tax breaks on his corporate backers. He let a fierce desire for power guide him. And he let extremists takeover the House to hang onto that power.

A Lewiston Tribune opinion, “On Bedke’s Watch, Idaho’s House Burned,” described it this way:

“Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Terri Pickens Manweiler raised a salient point Friday during a statewide televised debate with her GOP rival, House Speaker Scott Bedke.

On Bedke’s decade-long watch, the Idaho House devolved into even more extremism. How is he not responsible for that? And why would that recommend him for a promotion?

“My opponent sat back in the House with his gavel and stayed silent while the minority of extremists became the loudest voice in the Legislature,” Pickens Manweiler said. “And he thinks that’s earned him the gavel in the Senate. It has not.”

The House speaker is without equal in the Legislature. The various committee chairmen and chairwomen serve at his pleasure. He controls his own panel, the House Ways and Means Committee, where he can launch or kill any bill he pleases.“

I recently read a quote, attributed to Teddy Roosevelt, that describes the difference between the two of us:

         “Knowing what’s right doesn’t mean much unless you do what’s right.”

I am here today as the best choice for Lieutenant Governor. I have the right experience, the right temperament, and I have a powerful love for this state and the people here.

I know what’s right. I do what’s right.

If you haven’t voted already, I ask for your vote this Tuesday. For those who have already voted for me, I am deeply grateful. And thank you so much for allowing me the great honor of running to be Idaho’s next Lieutenant Governor.

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I can take you to a marbled mansion where whispers of injustice waft through great halls. Drafty air crackles with burning books. Cries issue from dim back rooms where bad deals come to life and good ideas are tortured and killed.

Boo! It’s Speaker Bedke’s Haunted House of Representatives!

For the past decade, nothing happened there that didn’t have his approval. Some of that was terrifying. I ask you: How dark is a heart that forces women to suffer and die rather than allow life-saving emergency abortions?

Yes, Bedke’s Haunted House is no place for the living.

Spirits here are so mean that they won’t let toddlers have Pre-K education. They won’t let teachers have raises. They won’t let LGBTQ folks have the same protection under the law as everyone else. 

And the undead are everywhere. Everywhere! Lobbyists for giant corporations are an eternal presence and they possess the minds—and votes—of the weakest lawmakers. Mr. Bedke has taken hundreds of thousands of dollars from these folks to try to beat me this year.

But don’t despair!

A good heart, a strong mind, and a fierce belief in justice, integrity and fairness will always prevail! If we all turn out to vote on Nov. 8, we can change everything.

Next year, we will have a very Happy Halloween.

The post Mr. Bedke’s Haunted House appeared first on Terri Pickens for Idaho Governor.

That’s what SJR 102 would lead to. It amends the Constitution to allow the Legislature to call itself back into session. I am voting against it on Nov. 8.

In fact, bad ideas like SJR 102 are why I am running for Lt. Governor. I have the judgment and courage to oppose stuff like this. Of course, my opponent Scott Bedke supports it. (Find his “Aye” vote recorded here)

Now, I have to link to his vote or else he will just gaslight about it. That’s what he did on another vital issue on KTVB’s Viewpoint. Scott Petcash asked him to respond to a tweet from me that pointed out that Mr. Bedke favors imprisoning women who have abortions.

“That’s absurd!” he sputtered, his face getting redder. (Check it out at the 15 minute mark). 

It’s naked dishonesty caught on tape. Idaho law declares that a woman who has an abotion is guilty of a felony, and shall be fined and/or imprisoned for NOT LESS than one year. (Check out Idaho Code 18-606) Mr. Bedke is fighting for that law right now in court–he CHOSE to do that. He even objects to a judge’s partial stay of the law to let doctors save women’s lives who need emergency abortions.

Let’s be very clear. Mr. Bedke doesn’t just support jailing women. He supports letting them suffer and die rather than giving them live-saving care. 

For the record, I oppose jailing women who seek abortiion services. I oppose efforts to have Government mandate our reproductive health care. I oppose Government interfering in birth control decisions. I oppose ceding our freedoms to the heavy hand of Government. (You can watch my own KTVB Viewpoint interview here)

At the moment, we have a growing group of radical, anti-freedom legislators in our Legislature who have absolutely thrived under Mr. Bedke’s failed leadership. If SJR 102 passes, they’ll go pro. It will be full-time Idaho Freedom Foundation and their adoring crowds of militia cosplayers.  Imagine no break from lawmakers who want to abolish science from classrooms, who want to jail librarians, who want to drive professors out of classrooms, who want to give public tax dollars to their churches, who want to control women even if it kills them. 

Let’s give ourselves a break from bad ideas: vote no on SJR 102.

And please vote yes for me on Nov. 8.

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So, I am issuing the following statement—full of great self-righteousness and grave condemnation (tempered with passive aggressive restraint)—over my opponent’s unmitigated gall to deny Idaho voters the courtesy of debating our differences in public:

“I’ve agreed to the KTVB debate with no pre-conditions. It’s unfortunate that the people of Idaho will not get this opportunity to see, firsthand, the difference between my record of delivering conservative results versus my opponent’s empty rhetoric.”

Hah! Take that Mr. Bedke!

 
Okay. I’ll fess up. My statement is 100% plagiarized … from Mr. Bedke. It’s something he said ages ago, way back in April.

Now, I don’t blame Mr. Bedke for wanting to avoid public appearances. (To be fair, he has agreed to the Idaho Public TV debate). 

When people meet Mr. Bedke and ask him hard questions, they get soft answers. Nobody likes that. The more people see this career politician who has risen on a chaotic tide of Idaho extremism, the more they want to just turn him out to pasture.

When folks meet me, they want me to be Idaho’s next Lt. Governor.

It’s worth remembering that Mr. Bedke issued his (our) statement when his primary opponent, Rep. Priscilla Giddings, refused to debate him. At the time, Giddings was being pilloried for harassing a teenage intern who had been raped by one of Giddings’ political allies. And Giddings had no defense for her work with the Idaho Freedom Foundation to starve public education and require the Government to say what can and can’t happen in our bedrooms and bookshelves.

Makes you wonder. Just what is it that Mr. Bedke wants to avoid talking about?

The post Behold, the Bedke Backbone appeared first on Terri Pickens for Idaho Governor.

Tomorrow, our leaders will honor our right to make reproductive healthcare decisions. 

Tomorrow, leaders won’t create outrage over every little thing to raise a campaign dollar.

Tomorrow, our kids will feel safe in the park and in their schools.

Tomorrow, Idaho will reduce our role in changing the world’s climate.

Tomorrow, businesses will love Idaho because we are welcoming and kind.

Tomorrow, freedom won’t just be words on a flag flown in the back of a pickup truck.

Tomorrow, our leaders will understand that serving the people is a sacred trust.

Tomorrow, our leaders will debate the best way to accomplish our dreams.

Tomorrow, the light of liberty will dispel the darkness we may see today.

What tomorrow looks like is decided by who shows up to the ballot box today.

Your vote matters Nov. 8.

The post Tomorrow Needs You Today appeared first on Terri Pickens for Idaho Governor.

Case in point: Speaker Bedke just sent an email to his supporters grumbling about not liking the Boise mayor – and freedom. He’s no fan of freedom. 

How did that darn Boise mayor offend Mr. Bedke? She liked the idea of “free contraception, abortion, and reproductive health care.”

Oh, sure, I understand. Maybe he’s flogging that tired GOP talking point about “free stuff.” It can’t hurt to ask:

Hey, Mr. Speaker Bedke, do you support contraception, abortion, and reproductive healthcare if we have to pay for it? 

I think we know the answer to that. 

But that other point is valid: Speaker Bedke really does hate “free” stuff … free speech, free thought, free expression and, most of all, free people.

Let’s stand together and say no to anti-freedom extremists like Speaker Bedke. 

Let’s be free.

The post It’s a Bedke Promise: Opposing All Things “Free” appeared first on Terri Pickens for Idaho Governor.

In the summer! Most of us try to tune out in June and July, head to the mountains, breathe free Idaho air. Yet, in back-to-back 28-day periods, online donors climbed from 83 to 235 donors.

What’s special about June 24?

That’s the day the US Supreme Court officially began revoking our rights. Many Americans suddenly realized the anti-freedom movement has grown powerful enough to defy the will of 63% Americans who believe abortion should be legal.

States, like Idaho, now make medical decisions for pregnant people. They aren’t choosing life either. Last week, the Idaho Republican Party declared that they want their politicians—who hold all statewide offices and a supermajority in the Legislature—to ban abortions for all cases. Yes. With the help of my opponent, House Speaker Scott Bedke, our Legislature is radical enough to come to heel.

Women notice when their government decides they have no value, no freedom. Women know, for instance, what an ectopic pregnancy is. And, it’s beyond brutal to say a woman should die when it happens. Women notice when their government chooses to kill them by outlawing life-saving medical care.

June 24 had such a monumental effect.

My campaign’s 200% increase in donors is some indication. You can also see the effect in the polls. The Public Religion Research Institute found, in the first week of July, that the SCOTUS decision had little effect on anti-abortion rights voters: 31% will only vote for anti-rights candidates (up 2% from 2020).

A seismic shift happened with Americans who will only vote for abortion-rights candidates. That number leaped from 15 percent in 2020 to 34 percent today.

These are the voters who work the hardest. They knock doors, stamp envelopes, host house parties, they donate—and they always vote. Pro-freedom candidates benefit.

What’s this mean in the lieutenant governor’s race?

It means Speaker Bedke can’t hide his anti-freedom record that indulged extremist lawmakers, scapegoated children and teachers, bullied librarians, and gifted giant tax cuts to wealthy corporate donors while leaving food taxes for the poorest to pay and watching families sink under rising property taxes.

It means we can stop listening to the pro-Bedke nonsense that wants us to give up. Mr. Bedke is in trouble. And he should be because he is wrong, wrong, wrong, for Idaho.

We the People who love Freedom are all here now.

We won’t go back.

The post My Campaign is Surging appeared first on Terri Pickens for Idaho Governor.

The latest affront comes with news that lame-duck Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin is openly gifting the vice chair of the Idaho Republican Party with tens of thousands of dollars in wages.

Yes, it’s legal corruption. But it’s corruption. It’s egregious. It’s blatant. 

How does an elected official think she can behave with such flagrant disrespect for the people she represents? Simply: a one-party system of government is only accountable to an interlaced network of cronies who rely on each other to amass power—and donations from influence peddlers—to keep getting elected.

I call it, “mutually assured corruption.”

McGeachin’s behavior is beyond the pale. But House Speaker Scott Bedke has embraced, manipulated, and strengthened this corrupt system to chase his personal political ambition.

Is Speaker Bedke’s disregard for Idaho taxpayers any less flagrant than McGeachin’s? No!

Right out in the open, with a chorus of Republican politicians cheering him on, he helped grease a $600 million tax gift for corporations through the Legislature this year.

That money was NOT spent on homeowners who are struggling with property taxes.

That money was NOT spent to fix or replace bridges.

That money was NOT spent to fix our children’s schools.

That money was NOT spent to keep the promise of repealing food taxes.

The list of needs ignored by Bedke, McGeachin and the whole bunch of interdependent political cronies is long and real.

Mutually assured corruption works because all the leaders must agree with each other to get elected. The leaders must praise each other’s wisdom and decision-making. The leaders must rely on unanimity of the super majority to create the illusion of inevitability.

Enough. 

Tired of Boise politicians throwing away your money? Tired of the double-talk and corruption?

I will fight this corruption.

The post Mutually Assured Corruption appeared first on Terri Pickens for Idaho Governor.

I was horrified to see Russia choose to kill its neighbors this spring. I was disheartened that experts predicted a quick Russian victory. In that darkest moment, as Ukraine’s leaders faced death, the United States offered Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky an escape route.

Remember President Zelinsky’s reply? 

“The fight is here. I need ammunition. Not a ride.”

The leader of a besieged people was saying “hell no” to a merciless bully. His Ukrainian resolve was a terrible and beautiful moment to witness. It was a moment that resonated with many Americans because our own nation’s fight for independence was a fight against tyranny.

This Fourth of July, I believe that Ukrainian defiance reminds us that our own nation shines most brightly when our leaders have courage. America shines when we stand up to bullies. In our best moments, America inspires people who fight oppression. In our best moments, we make tyrants abandon bloody adventures into sovereign lands.

This Fourth of July, I celebrate the courage it takes to fight for freedom. 

Today, the United States is not repelling a foreign invader but our freedom is under attack. When the Supreme Court revoked a woman’s right to control her body, our freedoms stepped backwards 50 years. 

This Fourth of July, I celebrate the courage it will take to get our freedom back. 

In the first grim days of war, the New York Times published a letter written by Andriy Yermak, an aide to Zelensky. As he wrote, the man was with Zelensky. I was moved by Mr. Yermak’s plea:

“Every day brings the possibility that our words may be our final ones. So let them be a plea for support for a free Ukraine.”

This Fourth of July, I am thinking about the courage it took for Mr. Yermak and Mr. Zelensky, and all of the Ukrainian people, to stand up and fight–as free people must when threatened by tyrants. I am thinking about how America needs these kinds of courageous leaders today. 
This Fourth of July, I offer my support to Ukraine. And, to my fellow Idahoans, I declare the fight is here and that when it comes to our freedom: WE WILL NOT GO BACK.

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