Amanda Easley

Amanda Easley: Idaho House District 22, Seat B

Amanda Easley won the Democratic nomination for Idaho House District 22, Seat B, running unopposed with 1,605 votes in the May 19, 2026 primary, according to certified Idaho Secretary of State results. On November 3, 2026, she faces Republican incumbent Jason Monks, the House majority leader, in a district covering Meridian, Kuna, and southwest Boise. She filed in February, less than a year before the general election.

Easley, who owns a small consulting business and previously led teams in the animal health industry, filed after seeing a Facebook post from the group Idaho Women Forward asking members to challenge uncontested incumbents. "We ran because nobody else was," she wrote in an August survey from CBS2/FOX9. Her campaign has since become one of the more visible Democratic efforts in the Treasure Valley.

Background

Easley grew up in Hurst, Texas. Her father is a retired police officer and Marine veteran; her mother is a retired public school teacher. She moved to Idaho in 2018 and describes herself in the survey as "a fixer" rather than a politician. She started as a veterinary technician and now runs her own consulting business as a sales consultant to a veterinary supply company, according to Idaho Education News, after leading teams in the animal health industry. In her survey response, she framed that career as preparation for the Legislature: "As a professional problem solver, I make sure I understand the true scope and source of the issue."

A joint campaign

Easley and her wife, Karlie, are running as a pair in District 22. Amanda is running for House Seat B; Karlie is running for the district's Senate seat. In their first campaign video, posted to TikTok in April, Amanda said, "We're a married lesbian couple running for office in deep-red Idaho." The 42-second video drew 77,000 views and 15,000 likes, according to Idaho Education News, and the couple has posted dozens of similar videos since, mixing humor with commentary on Idaho policy. In the survey, Amanda wrote, "Two moms who believe democracy relies on choice."

Where she stands

Public education funding is the first priority. In her survey responses, Easley argued that Idaho spends less per student than any other state and cited the effect on teacher recruitment: "when you're 36th in the nation for teacher pay, how can you expect our schools to be able to attract and retain any teachers, let alone specialists?" She pointed to class sizes that are too big, counselors who cover multiple schools, and speech therapy that kids need and don't get.

Affordability comes second, and her lead proposal there is repealing the state's grocery tax. She notes that Idaho charges the full 6 percent while most states tax food at a lower rate or not at all. In her survey, she wrote that her opponent "sponsored the credit increase and argued for keeping the tax in place so we could collect tax from tourists," adding that the state does not track how much grocery tax comes from out-of-state visitors. That is her characterization of Monks's position.

She is also a critic of the state's school voucher program, created in 2025 through House Bill 93's $50 million Parental Choice Tax Credit. In her survey she wrote that the state "spent $50 million on the voucher program" and that "two of that bill's four sponsors represent District 22, my opponent is one of them." Idaho Education News independently reported that Monks co-sponsored the tax credit. Easley argues the program has few guardrails and that the Tax Commission has not released data on how many participating students were already enrolled in private schools.

The state budget

Easley's budget critique ties together her education and spending arguments. In her survey, she pointed to the 2025 legislative session, when the Legislature passed what she describes as the largest income tax cut in state history, $253 million, and the budget committee set the state's revenue projection the following day. "You don't cut revenue before you know what it costs," she wrote. She said the state later cut $131 million from agency budgets in a state that has added roughly 300,000 people since 2020. Her proposals follow from that sequence: require an updated revenue projection before any bill that cuts revenue, repeal the $50 million voucher program, and review existing tax exemptions, which she notes the state does not track.

Campaign finance

Per the Idaho Secretary of State Sunshine portal, Easley has raised $13,651.03 this election cycle and spent $5,939.23, leaving $7,711.80 cash on hand. She has received no loans and carries no debt. Most of her money is in-state: $11,841.75 from Idaho contributors, against $1,809.28 from out of state. Her largest contributors include Jennifer Dickey, AJ Balukoff, and Susie Balukoff of Boise at $1,000 each, and the Idaho Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee at $500.

That total is well below what her incumbent opponent has on hand. Jason Monks, first elected in 2012, has a $51,600 war chest, per Idaho Education News. Easley has said she sees the 2026 electorate as the variable that matters more than the money, pointing to the abortion-related initiative expected to draw voters and to her own closing argument in the survey: "People are ready for something different."

Sources

• Idaho Secretary of State, May 2026 primary election official results
• CBS2/FOX9, 2026 general election survey: State Representative District 22B
• Easley for Idaho campaign site
• Idaho Education News, "Married lesbians challenge GOP leaders in their political debut," September 13, 2026
• Idaho Secretary of State Sunshine portal, campaign finance profile for Amanda Easley