Dave Lent

Dave Lent: Republican Nominee for Idaho Senate District 33

Sen. Dave Lent, a four-term incumbent, won the May 19, 2026 Republican primary for Idaho Senate District 33 without opposition, receiving 2,854 votes, according to certified Idaho Secretary of State results. He faces Democrat Jan Brown in the November 3, 2026 general election.

Background

Lent is a graduate of Eastern Idaho Technical College and Idaho State University and holds a national credential in Radiation Protection, according to his official Idaho Legislature biography. He retired from the Idaho National Laboratory as a nuclear facility training manager, overseeing regulatory and facility-specific training programs, and chaired the Energy Facilities Contracting Group; he received the U.S. Department of Energy's Distinguished Leadership Award for regulatory reform and cost-cutting work. He served 12 years on the Idaho Falls School District 91 Board of Trustees, during which the district replaced four elementary schools and converted a junior high into what his official bio describes as "a successful project-based high school." He was later appointed by then-Idaho Falls Mayor Rebecca Casper to the committee that recommended creating the College of Eastern Idaho. He and his wife, Terri, who teaches performing arts to youth, have five children and 14 grandchildren.

Legislative Record

Lent chairs the Senate Education Committee and also serves on Agricultural Affairs and Judiciary and Rules, according to the Legislature's current committee rosters for Education, Agricultural Affairs, and Judiciary and Rules.

In 2023, Lent was one of several Idaho Falls-area Republican legislators called before a district GOP committee alleging platform violations, tied in his case to Idaho Launch workforce-funding and higher-education appropriations votes. He told the Idaho Press: "They're using the Idaho Freedom Foundation scoring table to judge me against the platform. … I really would have to say, is it the Republican party or is it the Freedom Foundation doing this?" He also criticized the committee's process: "When they go into executive session here, their actual voting is secret ballot, … so they don't even know who's voting on what... they're still controlling it."

Platform

On his Idaho GOP candidate page, Lent lists education as a top issue: "We have a system that is designed for college prep when only 40% of our population graduates from college... I believe it is time to start including specific performance criteria in our funding formula for public education." On taxes, he says: "With the largest tax cuts in state history, we are on a roll and should continue to seek opportunities to drive efficiency and effectiveness in state government." On growth, he supports "local control and legislation, where appropriate, that lets the free market drive the outcomes."

Electoral History

Lent first won the District 33 Senate seat in 2018, defeating incumbent Tony Potts in the Republican primary with about 65% of the vote before winning the general election with about 59% against Democrat Jerry Sehlke, according to Idaho Secretary of State canvass records. He ran unopposed in the 2020 primary. In 2022, he defeated Bryan Scholz in the primary with 68% and ran unopposed in the general. In 2024, he defeated Scholz again in the primary, 2,580 votes to 1,714 (60.1% to 39.9%), and ran unopposed in the general with 13,118 votes. He ran unopposed again in his 2026 primary.

Campaign Finance

Lent's 2026 campaign finance filings with the Idaho Secretary of State's Sunshine portal show a beginning cash balance of $20,444.14, total contributions of $11,550.00, and total expenditures of $15,830.67, leaving an ending cash balance of $22,444.14 and no debt. His largest contributor is the Bonneville County Republican Central Committee ($2,000.00), followed by $1,000 contributions from the Idaho AGC State Political Action Committee, the Senate Republican PAC of Idaho, the Idaho Charter School PAC, and Dubois residents Richard and Peggy Larsen, and $500 contributions from Mountain View Hospital, St. Luke's Health Plan, Idaho Power, and BayerPAC.

Sources

• Idaho Secretary of State, certified results for the May 19, 2026 primary election
• Idaho Secretary of State, election canvass database
• Idaho State Legislature, 2026 member page for Dave Lent
• Idaho State Legislature, 2026 Senate Education Committee roster
• Idaho State Legislature, 2026 Senate Agricultural Affairs Committee roster
• Idaho State Legislature, 2026 Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee roster
• Idaho Press, "All six Idaho Falls legislators now under investigation by GOP Legislative District committees" (2023)
• Idaho Republican Party, candidate page for Dave Lent
• Idaho Secretary of State Sunshine portal, 2026 campaign finance filings for Dave Lent