Douglas T Pickett

Douglas Pickett Runs Unopposed for a Third Term in Idaho House District 27

Douglas T. Pickett will appear on the November 3, 2026 general election ballot with no opponent. No other candidate filed for House District 27 Seat A in the May 19, 2026 primary either, so the Republican incumbent from Oakley advances to a third term without a contested race at either stage, per the Idaho Secretary of State's candidate filing records.

That outcome matters beyond the district lines. Pickett holds a leadership post in the Idaho House, and his district spans three counties in the state's agricultural south-central corner. Voters in Oneida, Minidoka, and Cassia counties will see his name on the ballot but will not choose between candidates for this seat.

Who he is

Pickett was born in Twin Falls and graduated from Oakley High School. He earned a B.S. in economics from Brigham Young University in 1995, according to his official legislature biography. After high school he served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Duesseldorf, Germany, shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall. His campaign site says the experience of seeing people live under repressive governments shaped his interest in preserving what he calls the freedoms that make his community work.

He is a fourth-generation owner and partner of Pickett Ranch, an Idaho Century Farm and Ranch that his great-grandfather Moroni Pickett settled in 1882. The ranch produces wheat, potatoes, natural beef, and grass-fed lamb, and Pickett works it with his brothers and his sons. He and his wife, Brady Beck of Burley, have been married about 30 years. They have three sons: Maeser, Strom, and Porter.

Party and civic background

Before he ran for the legislature himself, Pickett spent more than two decades inside the Republican Party's structure. His campaign biography lists 22 years of service, including time as a precinct committeeman, stints as Young Republican chair and county vice-chair, and a run as Cassia County Republican Party chairman. He served nearly 20 years on the Republican State Central Committee.

His civic record is mostly local and water-focused, which tracks with his district's economy. He has served as a commissioner for the Oakley Valley Cemetery District, sat on the board of the Oakley Valley Water Company, and chaired the Cassia County Federal Lands Advisory Group. He was vice chair of the Cassia County Gateway Powerline Taskforce, a board member of the Cassia County Farm Bureau, and a member of the Governor's Bighorn/Domestic Sheep Advisory Taskforce. He also coached youth football and basketball for more than ten years.

How he got the seat

Pickett first won House District 27 Seat A in 2022, when Speaker Scott Bedke left the seat to run for lieutenant governor. Pickett won the Republican primary against Carl Voigt with 6,740 votes to 1,362, a margin of 83.2% to 16.8%, according to certified Idaho Secretary of State results. He won the seat again in 2024, defeating Democrat Damian Rodriguez in the general election.

He has lost a race before. In 2012 he ran for the Idaho State Senate and lost the Republican primary to incumbent Dean Cameron, 3,773 votes to 2,900, or 56.5% to 43.5%, per the official SOS canvass. Ten years later he ran for the House instead and won.

His current role

Pickett is serving his second term and holds one of the House's four elected leadership positions. He is Assistant Majority Leader under Speaker Mike Moyle, a role confirmed on the House leadership page for the 2026 session, which lists him alongside the Majority Leader, Majority Caucus Chair, and Minority leadership on the official roster. During the 2026 session he sits on four committees: Agricultural Affairs, Education, Resources & Conservation, and Ways & Means, according to his legislator page.

He chaired the House Education Committee during the 2025 session. For 2026, the committee's chair is Rep. Dale R. Hawkins and the vice chair is Rep. Clay Handy, with Pickett a member.

His legislative record

In 2024, Pickett sponsored House Bill 467, which would have tripled the maximum excess-use assessment that groundwater districts can charge irrigators who fail to comply with state-approved mitigation plans, from $100 to $300 per acre-foot. Pickett is a member of the Southwest Irrigation District, which requested the bill. The House Resources & Conservation Committee voted do-pass on the measure on February 13, 2024.

In February 2025 he voted yes on House Bill 93, the Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit, a refundable tax credit of $5,000 per student, or $7,500 for some families, for K-12 private school and homeschool expenses. The bill passed the House 42-28 on February 7, 2025 and was signed into law.

Where he stands

On his Idaho Republican Party candidate page, Pickett lists three issues: limited government, natural resources, and sustainable growth. On limited government, he writes that controlling the growth of government spending will provide for sustainability into the future and that he will work to minimize federal influence in state affairs. On natural resources, he calls water Idaho's single most important natural resource and writes that he will represent the state in interstate water compacts and advocate for Idahoans' primacy in managing public lands. On sustainable growth, he writes that local governments need resources to accommodate growth without harming transportation, schools, or other services.

Pickett filed the party's required "Integrity in Affiliation" certification, in which candidates affirm they support the Idaho Republican Party Platform as the standard for judging their performance. He did not sign onto it without exception. He disclosed two disagreements with the platform's language: one with the fiscal policies laid out in Article 1, Section 4A, and one with the platform's abortion language. On abortion, his stated position allows exceptions "in cases if rape, incest, or health of the mother," according to the party page.

Campaign finance

According to Idaho's Sunshine disclosure reports, Pickett's campaign raised $26,927.50 in the 2024 cycle and reported $16,084.47 in cash on hand. In the current 2026 cycle it has raised $14,500.00 and holds a cash balance of $38,198.81. Both filings are marked active.

Sources

• Doug Pickett for Idaho, campaign site
• Rep. Douglas Pickett, Idaho State Legislature member page
• House Leadership, Idaho State Legislature
• Doug Pickett candidate page, Idaho Republican Party
• Idaho State Legislature, House Bill 93 (2025)
• Idaho Secretary of State, certified 2022 primary results, House District 27 Seat A
• Idaho Secretary of State, certified 2012 primary results, Senate District 27