Jim Chmelik
Jim Chmelik, a former Idaho County Commissioner, holds a Bachelor of Science in finance and economics from the University of Maryland. He is seeking his first term in the Idaho State House of Representatives after an unsuccessful run in 2014 for Idaho Lieutenant Governor. During his previous candidacy and time as county commissioner, he defended Idaho’s reclamation of federal lands and limiting terms in U.S. Congress. He has voiced support for the well-being and rights of both the expectant mother, father, and the unborn child in his pro-life views. He is an entrepreneur and owns a woodworking business in Cottonwood.
2024 Primary Election Results
Harris 3,730 votes / Chmelik 3,497 votes
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Kingsley, R-Lewiston, had originally filed paperwork to run again. But he later decided against another run. “Once I realized that another true conservative was on the ballot, I felt comfortable making this decision,” Kingsley wrote on a recent Facebook post.
Kingsley is endorsing Lewiston Republican Kyle Harris, who will face Jim Chmelik of Cottonwood in the May 21 GOP primary. The nominee will face Lewiston Democrat Vickie Nostrant in the November general election.
The Free Press asked the candidates seven questions concerning their campaigns, allowing them to go at length with their answers:
Jim Chmelik
What do you bring to the table that your opponent doesn’t?
I bring experience. I have been actively involved in this community, this district and this state for more than 24 years....
What one issue is not being talked about in this race that should be getting aired?...
The politics of screaming to benefit the fringe to satisfy a few is not moving the conversation forward. I believe people are looking for more...
The radical left wishes to blur these differences or erase them completely. Their desire is to destroy any idea of the traditional family and replace it with the government as the sole provider of everything. Americans have a clear choice; we just need to define it. “Let us first do no harm.” It is never too late to change our direction.
Idaho County Commission Chairman Jim Chmelik has traveled across the West, a pied piper seeking to get counties to follow him on his quest to get the federal government to transfer public lands to Western states.
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