Jackie Davidson

Jackie Davidson: Idaho Republican Candidate for House District 16A

Jackie Davidson is a Republican candidate for the Idaho House of Representatives seeking the open seat in District 16A, which covers the North End and neighboring Boise neighborhoods in Ada County. The seat became open after incumbent Soñia Galaviz filed to run for the District 16 Senate seat. Davidson is running in the May 19, 2026, Republican primary. She has no prior legislative experience.

Background

Jackie Davidson has lived in Boise for 45 years. She holds a degree in IT and web development and has owned two businesses during her career. She founded Data Technologies Group, an accounting software support firm she has operated for more than 35 years, according to her 2022 Ballotpedia candidate survey. She also previously owned a web development business. Davidson is a grandmother and describes herself as a longtime civic activist within the Boise Republican community. She currently serves as Precinct Committeeman for District 1614 and as Secretary of District 16 Republicans, as noted on her campaign website.

Political Career

Davidson has run for the Idaho House of Representatives three times, all in District 16B. She lost to Democrat Colin Nash in both the 2020 and 2022 general elections, according to Ballotpedia. In 2024, she ran again in District 16B and won the Republican primary unopposed with 2,189 votes before losing to incumbent Todd Achilles in the general election, 13,978 to 9,401. For 2026, Davidson switched to the neighboring District 16A seat, which is open following Galaviz's departure. She is running against two Democrats, Megan Woller and Jeffrey Watkins, who are competing in the Democratic primary. Between her legislative campaigns, Davidson has been active in Boise Republican party organizing. In her 2022 candidate survey, she described leading a get-out-the-vote effort that she credited with placing Lucy Willits on the Boise City Council and Angie Redford on the West Ada School Board, and placing 27 precinct committeemen and women on the ballot. In January 2024, Davidson testified before the Idaho Legislature in support of a bill regulating harmful materials in libraries. The Idaho Press reported that she brought a stack of books she described as having obtained from the teen section of a Boise library, calling them inappropriate for children.

Policy Positions

Davidson's documented positions draw from her 2026 campaign website, her 2022 Ballotpedia survey, and her 2024 general election campaign, covered by KIVI. On taxation, Davidson prioritizes eliminating the state sales tax on groceries and reducing overall government spending to lower taxes. On elections, she opposes ranked choice voting, calls for E-Verify requirements for employers, and supports measures she frames as strengthening election integrity. On education, she supports parental rights and school choice, including funding access to private and homeschool options, and has called for constitutional and history education in schools. On abortion, she told KIVI in 2024 that she believes Idaho's abortion law as written is appropriate and opposes abortion. On public lands, her 2026 platform calls for eliminating what she describes as federal mismanagement of Idaho lands and returning land to state and local control. On healthcare, she has consistently emphasized individual medical freedom and opposition to government health mandates, a position rooted in her concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic. On the Second Amendment, she supports gun rights without restriction.

Political Alignment

Davidson is aligned with the Conservative Activist tier of Idaho Republican politics. Her 2024 campaign received an endorsement from Idaho Freedom PAC, documented by the Gem State Chronicle. She is affiliated with ConservativesOF Idaho, a grassroots PAC that, as the Idaho Press reported in 2021, aligns with the Idaho Freedom Foundation and the Idaho Second Amendment Alliance and promotes "Constitutional Republican Judeo-Christian" principles. Her campaign themes emphasizing constitutional governance, medical freedom, election integrity, and federal land transfer are consistent with the conservative activist wing of the Idaho Republican Party.

Campaign and Endorsements

Davidson's campaign website lists an endorsement from House Speaker Mike Moyle, which was also referenced in 2024 KIVI campaign coverage. She also received an Idaho Freedom PAC endorsement in 2024 and endorsement from ConservativesOF Idaho. Davidson signed the U.S. Term Limits pledge, per Ballotpedia. Campaign finance records are available through the Idaho Secretary of State's Sunshine database.