Dustin W. Manwaring

Dustin Manwaring, Republican Incumbent for Idaho House District 29 Seat A, Seeks Third Straight Term

Rep. Dustin Manwaring, a Republican from Pocatello, is on the November 3, 2026 general election ballot for Idaho House District 29, Seat A, facing Democrat Mary Shea. He ran unopposed in the May 19, 2026 Republican primary and received 3,009 votes, while Shea also ran unopposed on the Democratic side and received 1,964 votes, according to Idaho's official May 2026 primary results. The November matchup is the third consecutive contest between the two candidates.

Ballot History

Manwaring is serving his third term in the House and previously held the seat for one term from 2016 to 2018, according to his official Idaho Legislature biography. His electoral record spans a decade. He first won the seat in 2016, defeating David Maguire 8,609 votes to 7,884. He lost to Chris Abernathy in the 2018 general election, 7,353 to 7,016, then reclaimed the seat in 2020 by beating Abernathy 10,181 to 8,753. In 2022 he won a contested primary against Craig Yadon, 2,800 votes to 2,038, and then defeated Mary Shea in the general election, 7,575 to 6,931. He won the 2024 rematch against Shea 12,214 to 9,910. All prior vote totals are per the Idaho Secretary of State's elections database, with the 2024 general result also reported by the Idaho State Journal. The 2026 race against Shea is their third straight matchup.

Background and Law Practice

Manwaring is a Blackfoot and Pocatello native and a graduate of Blackfoot High School, the University of Utah, and Drake University Law School. He has lived and practiced law in Pocatello since 2010, when he founded Milestone Law, PLLC, where his practice focuses on business, estate planning, and land use law, according to his campaign biography. The firm has grown to serve clients in Idaho, around the United States, and abroad as outside house counsel, and Manwaring has argued cases before the Idaho Supreme Court and the Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel.

Before law school, he worked as a manager for Utah-based SkyWest Airlines in Salt Lake City. During law school, he served as a law clerk for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Iowa. He and his wife, Whitney, have two children, and he serves on the board of the Lillian Vallely Youth Foundation, a nonprofit serving Native American youth, according to his Legislature biography.

Legislative Service and Leadership

Manwaring sits on the House Appropriations Committee, the Ethics and House Policy Committee, and the Resources and Conservation Committee, per his Legislature member page. During his first term, he served on the Business, State Affairs, and Local Government committees, according to his campaign site. He was elected House Majority Caucus Chair in December 2022 and held that leadership post for the 2023 to 2024 term.

Gov. Brad Little appointed him to the Governor's Cybersecurity Task Force in 2021, per his campaign site. He currently serves on the Idaho Capitol Commission, a public appointment with a term expiring November 30, 2026, according to the Capitol Commission's member list.

Legislative Record

Manwaring was the House floor sponsor of House Bill 368 in the 2025 session, a measure addressing medical education through the WWAMI program, which places medical students from regional states at the University of Washington School of Medicine. The bill passed the House 46-21-3, passed the Senate 26-8-1, cleared House concurrence 55-15-0, and was signed by Gov. Little on April 2, 2025. "We're going to have to have an all-of-the-above approach, and this legislation creates that," Manwaring said of the bill, adding that "all my energy has been on getting the best policy I thought we could have to pass the House."

In the 2026 session, Manwaring sponsored House Bill 510, which would bar employers from restricting public employees from communicating "in good faith" with state lawmakers, legislative staff, or committees. "This is really about good governance and government transparency," Manwaring told the House State Affairs Committee on January 21, 2026, according to the Idaho Capital Sun. The bill would also prohibit employers from taking or threatening "adverse action" against public employees for talking with legislators. He told the Sun the idea came from years of experience as a legislator: "I've had enough personal experience with just having issues where I feel like sometimes we're not getting the best information, or we would just get better information if this protection was in place for employees to just be able to talk to us freely."

Platform and Stated Positions

Manwaring lists his top three issues on his Idaho Republican Party candidate page: "Protecting private property rights and personal data," "Promoting small business and entrepreneurship," and "Preserving our natural resources to sustain our Idaho way of life."

In a 2024 candidate Q&A with East Idaho News, Manwaring described himself in his own words: "I am native to Southeast Idaho and have lived in Pocatello for 15 years," and "I started and run my own law practice in Pocatello." His stated reason for running: "I am running to protect Idaho families, promote small business, and preserve our natural resources."

He told East Idaho News the key challenges facing his district are economic uncertainty, healthcare access, and affordable housing. "I support increasing access to healthcare and working to manage costs of healthcare and childcare for Idaho families," he said, naming "expanding telehealth services to connect rural residents with quality care" as part of that work. On water, he wrote that "the Legislature should work to codify new agreements that may be reached between the surface and groundwater users to conserve, allocate, and recharge water in the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer." On taxes and workforce, he cited support for reducing individual and corporate income tax rates, "including the Idaho LAUNCH grant program," and wrote, "We also need more focus on expanding medical programming and retaining local medical graduates to meet our growing demand and need for medical professionals."

Campaign Finance

Manwaring's 2026 campaign finance report, filed with Idaho's Sunshine campaign finance system, shows beginning cash of $39,236.97. He raised $29,923.35 in contributions and spent $29,716.21, leaving $39,396.56 in ending cash and $0 in debt. His largest contribution came from Blue Cross of Idaho at $2,000. The Idaho Cooperative Utilities Association PAC and UHFG Insurance PAC each gave $1,500. Contributions of $1,000 came from Britt Raybould, Leadership for Idaho PAC, James Petzke, National Federation of Independent Business Idaho PAC, Altria Client Services, Syringa Networks, and Idaho Land Fund.

Recognition

Manwaring was named the 2017 Idaho Young Republican Elected Official of the Year by the Idaho Young Republicans and was named to the Idaho State Business Journal's 20 under 40 list of young professionals, according to his campaign site. In 2018, the Speaker of the Idaho House nominated him for the Emerging Leaders Program, sponsored by the State Legislative Leaders Foundation and the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, and he was chosen as one of fifty state legislators nationwide to participate. "These legislators represent the best in our legislative institutions, and are destined for future leadership roles in their state," said Stephen G. Lakis, president of the State Legislative Leaders Foundation, in language quoted on Manwaring's campaign site. Also in 2018, he traveled to New Zealand with the American Council of Young Political Leaders, a selection his campaign site describes as helping foster "mutual understanding, respect, and friendships among the next generation of leaders."

Sources

• Idaho Secretary of State, certified May 19, 2026 primary results
• Idaho Secretary of State elections database, candidate page for Dustin Whitney Manwaring
• Idaho State Journal, "Republicans Manwaring, Burgoyne win District 29 legislative races"
• Idaho State Legislature, official member page for Rep. Dustin Manwaring
• Manwaring for Idaho, campaign biography
• Idaho Republican Party, candidate page for Dustin Manwaring
• East Idaho News, 2024 candidate Q&A
• Idaho State Legislature, House Bill 368 (2025) legislative history
• Idaho Capital Sun, "New bill would protect Idaho government employees who talk to state legislators"
• Idaho Capitol Commission, commission members list
• Idaho Secretary of State Sunshine portal, campaign finance filings