Chris Bruce

Chris Bruce is a Republican member of the Idaho House of Representatives representing District 23 Seat A, which covers Kuna and portions of Ada, Canyon, and Owyhee counties. Bruce was first elected in 2024, defeating then-incumbent Rep. Melissa Durrant in the Republican primary by 82 votes (50.6 percent to 49.4 percent) and winning the November general election with 80.1 percent. He assumed office December 1, 2024 and is seeking a second term in the May 19, 2026 Republican primary in a direct rematch with Durrant. The general election is November 3, 2026.

Background

Bruce, 46, was born March 7, 1980 in Atlanta, Georgia and has lived in Idaho for approximately a decade. He resides in Kuna with his wife and two sons. He is a leukemia survivor (acute lymphocytic leukemia, diagnosed around 2013), an experience he and his wife credit with their commitment to community service. He is a mortgage loan officer (NMLS #1435739) at Premier Mortgage Resources LLC, with more than two decades in the industry including time as a branch manager, as described on his campaign website. He has served as a Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Light the Night Honored Hero advocate, on the Kuna Chamber of Commerce board, on the Kuna Joint School District Superintendent Advisory Council, and on the Kuna Economic Development Committee.

Political Career

Bruce was elected to the Kuna City Council in 2021 and continues to serve on the council. He ran twice unsuccessfully for the Idaho House (2020 and 2022) before defeating Rep. Melissa Durrant in the 2024 District 23A Republican primary by 82 votes, per Ballotpedia. In the 2025-2026 legislative session he serves on House Commerce and Human Resources, Environment, Energy and Technology, and Revenue and Taxation. He signed the U.S. Term Limits Convention Pledge in April 2024.

Policy Positions

Bruce's platform centers on school choice with "funding following the child," life beginning at fertilization, Second Amendment protections, opposition to illegal immigration, and reducing tax exemptions for large data centers, per his Idaho Republican Party candidate page. He told the Idaho Capital Sun in May 2026 that if the state funds public education, "the funding should follow the child... wherever the kid learns best, that should be the parent and the kid's choice." As a Kuna City Council member he voted against a proposed hospital (September 2023) and police station (January 2023), votes his opponent has highlighted in the rematch. In the Legislature he has voted against H493 (increasing penalties for certain sexual-solicitation offenses) and against the 2024 private-school tax credit. He supports "earned autonomy" for high-performing school districts (HB 883) and transparency mandates requiring public comment periods and livestreaming for taxing-district meetings.

Political Alignment

The Idaho Freedom Foundation Freedom Index has scored Bruce in the 88-89 percent range with comparable Spending Index marks, placing him among the upper tier of House Republicans on IFF metrics. National school-choice groups including the American Federation for Children Victory Fund have spent tens of thousands in independent expenditures against Durrant in both 2024 and 2026 cycles, per Idaho Capital Sun.

Campaign and Endorsements

Bruce is running in the May 19, 2026 Republican primary against former Rep. Melissa Durrant in a rematch of the 2024 contest he won by 82 votes. Independent expenditure filings on the Idaho Sunshine portal show 2026 backing from Citizens Alliance of Idaho PAC totaling approximately $866, plus support from Rep. Jordan Redman's 36-18-1 Inc. PAC. Idaho EdNews reports that Citizens Alliance of Idaho PAC draws substantial out-of-state money, including from a Virginia-based national affiliate ($450,000 transfer to the Idaho state PAC) and Pennsylvania gaming-related sources. The general election is November 3, 2026.