Idaho General Election · November 3, 2026Find polling place
Democrat

James Ruchti

Incumbent
James Ruchti

Idaho Senate, District 29

Campaign website:Campaign Website
Phone:(208) 322-1406
Email:JRuchti@senate.idaho.gov
Facebook:Campaign Facebook Page
Campaign finance:Campaign Finance
City:Pocatello

James D. Ruchti: Idaho Senate District 29 Candidate Profile

James D. Ruchti, the Democratic incumbent state senator for Idaho Senate District 29, is on the November 3, 2026 general election ballot against Republican John Crowder. Both men ran unopposed in the May 19, 2026 primaries: Ruchti received 1,949 votes in the Democratic primary and Crowder received 3,017 votes in the Republican primary, per certified Idaho Secretary of State results.

From House to Senate

Ruchti's legislative career spans two chambers and three decades. District 29 voters in Pocatello first sent him to the Idaho House of Representatives in 2006, and he served there until 2010. He did not run again in 2010 and spent roughly a decade out of office, a period he describes on his campaign website as time spent with his sons, Drew and Spencer, as they finished high school and college. He won election back to the House in November 2020, taking office December 1 of that year, and served one term there through 2022.

In 2022, Ruchti moved to the Idaho State Senate. He defeated Republican David T. Worley in the November 8, 2022 general election, 7,863 votes to 6,678, according to the Idaho Secretary of State's elections database. The seat had been held by Mark Nye, whom Ruchti succeeded, per his campaign biography. In the November 5, 2024 general election, Ruchti ran unopposed and received 16,155 votes, per the Secretary of State's database.

He is now in his second Senate term. His colleagues selected him as assistant minority leader, a role he has held since 2022, according to his official Idaho Legislature biography. For the 2026 session, he serves on three Senate committees: Commerce and Human Resources, Judiciary and Rules, and State Affairs, where he is the panel's only Democrat, per the same legislature.idaho.gov biography. The office carries a two-year term and a $25,000 salary, per the Idaho Capital Sun's 2026 voter guide.

Pocatello Roots, West Point, and Law Practice

Ruchti grew up in Pocatello and served as student body president at Pocatello High School, according to his campaign biography. He writes that his father's involvement with the Simplot Games taught him "what it meant to give your time and energy to something that brought people together." Then-Congressman Richard Stallings nominated him to the United States Military Academy at West Point, and he graduated in 1993. He served five years in the Army as a military intelligence officer, retiring with the rank of Captain.

He writes on his campaign site that military service shaped his approach to work: "It taught me how to lead under pressure, how to stay grounded in my values, and how important it is to put service above self."

Ruchti and his wife, Wendy, have been married since 1993 and spent their first years of marriage in Germany during his Army posting, per his campaign homepage. After his military service, both attended the University of Idaho. He earned his law degree there in 2001; Wendy earned a Ph.D. in education and now teaches in the College of Education at Idaho State University. Ruchti has been a partner at Ruchti and Beck Law Offices in Pocatello since 2009, per his legislature.idaho.gov biography, which also states he is a past leader of the Idaho Trial Lawyers Association and was named Idaho Trial Lawyer of the Year in 2025. The Idaho Capital Sun's questionnaire lists him as a fifth-generation Idahoan and describes him, in his own words, as an attorney and small business owner.

Legislative Record: Pesticide Immunity and Library Materials

Ruchti's most prominent fights in the Senate have centered on two issues: lawsuits against pesticide manufacturers and the state's library-materials law. In 2024 he voted against Senate Bill 1245, which would have granted pesticide manufacturers legal immunity by making EPA-approved labeling the only required health-and-safety warning. The bill failed on the Senate floor, 15-19. Arguing against it, per Idaho Reports, Ruchti said: "This provides protection for all corporations... Both good actors and bad. Because that's what we do. We write laws for general application." He added that the courtroom is "the only place that a single solitary citizen of this state, even of this country, can go toe to toe with a multibillion, multinational corporation and have a shot at getting justice."

He also voted against Senate Bill 1352, which created a religious-conscience exemption for counselors. That bill passed, 23-11-1.

In 2025, a similar pesticide-liability bill backed again by Bayer, House Bill 303, died in committee without a floor vote. On his campaign site, Ruchti describes his role in that outcome: "No multi-billion-dollar corporation should be able to shut the courthouse doors on ordinary people... I stood firmly against that effort, and with the work of others who shared that view, we were able to stop the bill from moving forward."

Also in 2024, the Legislature passed House Bill 710, which requires libraries to move challenged materials to restricted sections. As the law took effect on July 1, 2024, Ruchti joined a rally at Marshall Public Library in Pocatello. He told East Idaho News the law "seeks to address a problem that doesn't exist" and "gives power to the prudest person in our community and allows that person to set the standard for what books can be on the shelves in the library." He added, "It makes no sense that we would give the power to one individual in the community to set those standards. That's not the way communities work," and said it was "a sad day for Idaho that we're giving into the extreme right and their desire to push these culture war issues on us."

Platform and Stated Positions

Ruchti lists his legislative priorities on his campaign site as properly funding K-12 public education, preserving public lands, supporting working families and small businesses, preserving the judicial system, and addressing consumer protection, property-tax relief and veterans' affairs. In a January 18, 2024 Idaho State Journal op-ed titled "Vouchers are an anti-conservative attack on public education," he opposed a $5,000-per-child tax-credit voucher, writing that it "siphons tax money from our community schools."

In the Idaho Capital Sun's 2026 voter guide questionnaire, Ruchti named his top three priorities as strengthening public education, making Idaho more affordable for working families, and protecting access to healthcare. On the 2025 private-school tax credit, which he says spends $50 million a year, he wrote: "I am for repealing this tax credit and reinvesting every single dollar directly back into Idaho's public schools." On housing, he called for more homes of all types, state infrastructure investment, and a strengthened Idaho Housing Trust Fund, while preserving local control.

He supports Proposition 1, the November 2026 ballot initiative that, per the Idaho Capital Sun's voter guide, would repeal Idaho's abortion ban and allow abortion up to fetal viability (or beyond, in a medical emergency), while also enumerating rights to contraception, fertility treatment and other reproductive healthcare. "If Idaho voters approve Proposition 1 in November, I will respect their decision and work to faithfully implement it," Ruchti wrote in the Capital Sun questionnaire. On the proposed Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus, he backs nuclear energy and the jobs it could bring, but conditions his support on "ironclad, legally binding guarantees that all waste is recycled, reused or processed for permanent disposal" and that "our clean water supply is absolutely protected." He also opposes the 2026 Legislature's across-the-board budget cuts. Crowder did not respond to the Capital Sun questionnaire.

September 2026 Candidate Forum

Ruchti attended a nonpartisan "Meet Your Candidates" forum on September 22, 2026, held at Idaho State University's Pond Student Union, per the Idaho State Journal. Crowder did not attend.

Campaign Finance

Ruchti's campaign has raised $108,256.17 in contributions this cycle and spent $76,242.90, leaving $57,817.67 cash on hand and no debt, according to the Idaho Secretary of State's Sunshine campaign finance portal. His largest individual contribution came from Mary Perry at $2,200. Six contributors gave $2,000 each: Melissa Wintrow, the Idaho Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, the Bannock County Democratic Central Committee, Chris Mathias, Brent Gordon and James Arnold. Brian Hilverda contributed $1,900. Karen Mackay and Micron Technology each contributed $1,500.

Sources

Profile published by IdahoVoters.com. Last updated September 27, 2026. This profile will be updated as additional information becomes available.

Frequently asked questions

Who is running for Idaho Senate District 29 in 2026?
Democratic incumbent James D. Ruchti faces Republican John Crowder in the November 3, 2026 general election.
How did Ruchti and Crowder fare in the May 2026 primaries?
Both ran unopposed. Ruchti received 1,949 votes in the Democratic primary and Crowder received 3,017 votes in the Republican primary, per certified Idaho Secretary of State results.
How long has Ruchti served in the Idaho Legislature?
He served in the House from 2006 to 2010, then again from 2020 to 2022, and has served in the Senate since 2022, succeeding Mark Nye.
What is Ruchti's role in the Senate?
He is assistant minority leader, a role his colleagues selected him for in 2022, and he serves on the Commerce and Human Resources, Judiciary and Rules, and State Affairs committees.
What does Ruchti do outside the Legislature?
He is a partner at Ruchti and Beck Law Offices in Pocatello and was named Idaho Trial Lawyer of the Year in 2025.
What is Ruchti's position on the private school tax credit?
He supports repealing the 2025 tax credit, which he says spends $50 million a year, and reinvesting the money in public schools.
Where does Ruchti stand on Proposition 1?
He supports the initiative, which would repeal Idaho's abortion ban and allow abortion up to fetal viability, and has said he would work to implement it if voters approve it in November.
What is his position on a Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus in Idaho?
He supports nuclear energy and the campus but conditions his support on legally binding guarantees for nuclear-waste handling and water protection.
What has Ruchti said about pesticide-manufacturer lawsuits?
He voted against a 2024 bill and helped stop a similar 2025 bill that would have limited lawsuits against pesticide manufacturers, arguing courts are where ordinary citizens can hold large corporations accountable.
How much money has Ruchti's campaign raised?
His campaign raised $108,256.17 in contributions this cycle, spent $76,242.90, and reported $57,817.67 cash on hand with no debt, per the Idaho Secretary of State's Sunshine portal.

Also on the ballot in District 29

Every candidate for the State Senate and both House seats in this district. See the full District 29 page.

More on the November 3 ballot