Dave Lent

Dave Lent: Idaho Republican Incumbent for Senate District 33

Dave Lent is a Republican member of the Idaho State Senate representing District 33, which covers much of Idaho Falls and portions of Bonneville County. Lent lives in Idaho Falls and is seeking his fourth term in the May 19, 2026, Republican primary. Democrat Jan Brown is running in the Democratic primary for the same seat, per Ballotpedia.

Background

Lent was born in Idaho Falls and grew up in Shelley, Idaho. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Corporate Training from Idaho State University and a credential from Eastern Idaho Technical College, along with a national credential in radiation protection, per his Idaho Legislature biography. He spent his career at the Idaho National Laboratory, retiring as site-wide training manager for Fluor Idaho. He received a Distinguished Leadership Award from the U.S. Department of Energy for regulatory reform and cost-cutting. He has served on advisory boards for the College of Eastern Idaho and Idaho State University, per Wikipedia.

Lent served on the Idaho Falls School District 91 Board of Trustees from 2006 to 2018, resigning to take his Senate seat. During his tenure, he helped facilitate construction of four new elementary schools and the conversion of Clair E. Gale Jr. High into Compass Academy, as he described in a 2024 East Idaho News candidate questionnaire. Lent is married to Terri Lent and has five children and fourteen grandchildren.

Political Career

Lent won his first Senate race in 2018, defeating incumbent Tony Potts in the Republican primary and Democrat Jerry Sehlke in the general election with 60 percent of the vote. He ran unopposed in the 2020 Republican primary and won re-election in both 2022 and 2024, defeating the same challenger, Bryan Scholz, in both primary cycles, per Ballotpedia.

Lent chairs the Senate Education Committee and sits on the Finance and Agricultural Affairs committees, per his Idaho Legislature biography. Governor Brad Little appointed him as Idaho’s representative to the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.

In early 2023, Lent used his authority as Senate Education Committee chair to block a universal education savings account bill from receiving a hearing, as reported by the Idaho Capital Sun. The Idaho Freedom Foundation publicly condemned him for this action. When the ESA bill eventually reached the full Senate, Lent voted against it, stating: “It’s actually against my conservative Republican perspective to hand this money out with no accountability that these precious tax dollars are being used wisely,” as reported by Boise State Public Radio.

In the 2024 session, Lent was a lead Senate sponsor of House Bill 521, the sweeping school facilities and tax relief bill. The Idaho Capital Sun reported that HB 521 creates mechanisms for the state to spend an estimated $2 billion on K-12 school facilities over the next decade, with $1.5 billion of it new spending including a $1 billion state bond. Lent described the bill as “a giant step forward” after it passed the Senate. He subsequently sponsored trailer legislation to address school district concerns about four-day school week restrictions embedded in the original bill, telling Idaho Reports: “Pull out the language that’s the problem,” per Idaho Reports.

In the 2025 session, Lent sponsored Senate Bill 1025, which proposed expanding Idaho’s Empowering Parents program and directing an additional $30 million toward special education in public schools. The bill passed the Senate Education Committee on a 5-4 vote. Lent framed it as a middle-ground approach between no school choice expansion and unaccountable voucher programs, as he told KTVB.

Policy Positions

Lent’s most extensively documented policy area is education. He has consistently supported public school infrastructure investment while requiring accountability measures in any school choice expansion. He told Idaho Education News during the 2025 SB 1025 hearing: “If we’re going to have a school choice bill, it has to look like this,” as reported by Idaho Education News.

On fiscal matters, Lent has emphasized discipline in appropriations through his Finance and JFAC work. In a 2022 East Idaho News candidate profile, he stated: “Government should not be expected to solve people’s problems, we should look to local, state and federal control in that order, a free enterprise system should be the basis for the economy, maintaining minimal taxes supports both families and business.”

Political Alignment

Lent is a Traditional Conservative Republican. His legislative record has placed him in sustained conflict with the Idaho Freedom Foundation. The IFF publicly condemned Lent for his 2023 handling of the ESA legislation, and the LD33 Republican committee’s 2024 censure proceedings against him explicitly cited IFF Freedom Index scores as the platform compliance measure, with Lent himself noting: “They’re using the Idaho Freedom Foundation scoring table to judge me against the platform,” as reported by the Post Register. Despite the censure, Lent won re-election in the 2024 primary by a comfortable margin. His sponsorship of HB 521, the largest school facilities investment in state history, and his conditional support for school choice legislation with accountability requirements are consistent with governing-conservative positioning.

Campaign and Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify formal endorsements for Lent in either the 2022 or 2024 election cycles. No endorsement announcements for the 2026 race have been publicly reported as of April 2026. Campaign finance records are available through the Idaho Secretary of State’s Sunshine database.

FAQ

Who is Dave Lent, Idaho? Dave Lent is a Republican state senator from Idaho Falls representing Idaho Senate District 33. A retired Idaho National Laboratory training manager and former school board member, he has chaired the Senate Education Committee since 2018.

What district does Dave Lent represent? Lent represents Idaho State Senate District 33, covering much of Idaho Falls and portions of Bonneville County.

Is Dave Lent an incumbent? Yes. Lent is a three-term incumbent seeking a fourth term in the May 19, 2026, primary.

What committees does Dave Lent serve on? Lent chairs the Senate Education Committee and serves on the Finance and Agricultural Affairs committees, per his Idaho Legislature biography.

What has Dave Lent sponsored in the Idaho Legislature? Lent was a lead Senate sponsor of House Bill 521, the landmark $1.5 billion new school facilities investment signed in 2024. He also sponsored Senate Bill 1025 in 2025, a school choice expansion bill with accountability requirements, and has worked on trailer legislation to address implementation issues with HB 521.

2018 Primary Election Results Lent 61% / Potts (incumbent)

2018 General Election Results Lent 60% / Sehlke

2020 Primary Election Results Lent / Unopposed

2022 Primary Election Results Lent / Scholz

2022 General Election Results Lent / Unopposed

2024 Primary Election Results Lent 2,580 / Scholz 1,714

2024 General Election Results Lent / Unopposed

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