Republican

Chuck Winder

Former Candidate — Idaho Senate District 20

Campaign Website

(208) 332-1354

CWinder@senate.idaho.gov

Campaign Facebook Page

Campaign Finance

Chuck Winder grew up in the Boise Valley, attended the College of Idaho, and has owned his own business for 30 years. After college, Chuck was a flight instructor for the Navy. He considers himself a public servant, having served on the Boise City Planning and Zoning Commission, 13 years on the ACHD Commission, 11 years as the Chairman of the Idaho Transportation Board, and now 16 years in the Idaho Senate. Chuck was elected by his colleagues as Assistant Majority Leader, Majority Leader, and now as the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. Chuck has served on the Education, Agriculture, State Affairs, and Transportation committees.

2024 Primary Election Results Keyser 3,208 votes / Winder 2,926 votes

Profile published by IdahoVoters.com. Last updated May 7, 2026. This profile will be updated as additional information becomes available.

News Stories

Endorsement: Senate Republican leader faces challenger in west Boise district

editorial · Idaho Statesman · Editorial Board · 20240514

Idaho Senate President Pro Tem Chuck Winder is the model of statesmanship and has proven himself to be a strong leader who runs a tight ship in the Senate. He is being challenged in the Republican primary in District 20, which includes west Boise, by Josh Keyser. We don’t know much about Keyser, and he declined our invitation to interview with the editorial board for an endorsement. The Idaho Statesman editorial board endorses Chuck Winder in the Republican primary for Idaho Senate in District 20.

Updated: Idaho Senate president pro tem reprimands three senators

news · Idaho Capital Sun · Clark Corbin · 20231115

Senate President Pro Tem Chuck Winder has removed Sens. Glenneda Zuiderveld and Brian Lenney as the vice chairs of their committees and reprimanded Sen. Scott Herndon over editorials and comments that Winder said attacked other senators. The fight between Winder, a Boise Republican who is the top ranking member of Senate leadership, and Zuiderveld and Herndon, came to light in a press release issued by the Idaho Freedom Caucus on Monday morning. Lenney then disclosed Wednesday afternoon that he too had been removed as the vice chair of Senate Commerce and Human Resources Committee.

‘Degrading and disrespectful’: Boise Republican rebukes Freedom Caucus lawmakers

news · Idaho Statesman · Ian Max Stevenson · 20231115

The leader of the Idaho Senate, Chuck Winder, publicly reprimanded three Republican members for making derogatory remarks about their colleagues just two months before the Idaho Legislature is scheduled to convene. The Idaho Freedom Caucus released three letters last week from Senate President Pro Tem Chuck Winder, R-Boise, criticizing the state senators for criticisms made about other legislators online. In these letters, Winder threatened to remove Senator Zuiderveld from her position as vice chair of the Health and Welfare Committee for posting cartoons and blogs criticizing other lawmakers, and Senator Lenney from his position as vice chair of the Commerce and Human Resources Committee for aggressively attacking colleagues. Senator Herndon also received a letter for online criticisms of federal and state spending. These actions by Winder have sparked tension within the Republican Party, with the Idaho Freedom Foundation condemning Winder's comments as authoritarian and an abuse of his office.