Jan Brown

Jan Brown: Idaho Democratic Candidate for Senate District 33

Jan Brown is a Democratic candidate for Idaho State Senate District 33, which covers much of Idaho Falls and portions of Bonneville County. Brown lives in Idaho Falls and is running in the May 19, 2026, Democratic primary, per Idaho Education News. She will face Republican incumbent Dave Lent in the November 3, 2026, general election. This is Brown's second run for elected office, having lost the 2024 Bonneville County Commissioner District 1 race to Republican Karl Casperson.

Background

Brown arrived in Idaho Falls in 1976 shortly after graduating from the Oregon State University School of Forestry with a Bachelor of Science in Resource Recreation Management, as she described on her 2024 county commissioner campaign website. She went on to build a 43-year career in conservation, outdoor recreation advocacy, and nonprofit leadership in the Northern Rockies. Her career highlights include serving as the first executive director of the Henry's Fork Foundation from 1991 to 2000, where she co-facilitated the Henry's Fork Watershed Council in collaboration with the Fremont-Madison Irrigation District, creating a cooperative framework between farmers and anglers that the Rotary Club of Idaho Falls later described as foundational to 25 years of watershed cooperation, per the Idaho Falls Rotary Club. She also served as a nuclear waste and natural resources advisor to Governor John Evans in 1985, worked at Idaho National Laboratory from 1979 to 1982 and again from 2000 to 2003, and served as executive director of the Yellowstone Business Partnership from 2003 to 2013. From 2014 to 2015 she managed a $1.5 million HUD Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant for Fremont, Madison, Teton, and Teton-Wyoming counties, per her East Idaho News candidate profile. In 2000 the Idaho Statesman named her one of Idaho's Ten Catalysts for Change for the 21st century, citing her collaborative work in the Henry's Fork watershed. She retired to Idaho Falls in December 2020. She is an active ruling elder at First Presbyterian Church and serves on the board of Friends of Harriman State Park. She serves as State Committeewoman for the Bonneville County Democratic Party and as Region 7 representative on the Idaho Democratic Party executive committee, per her August 2025 Post Register op-ed.

Political Career

Brown ran for Bonneville County Commissioner District 1 in November 2024, losing to Republican Karl Casperson, per the Post Register. Her 2026 Senate District 33 candidacy is her second run for elected office.

Policy Positions

Brown's documented policy priorities draw from her 2024 county commissioner campaign and her August 2025 Post Register op-ed. On water, Brown has described herself as well-qualified to represent Bonneville County in discussions of groundwater well curtailments, aquifer recharge, and fish habitat restoration on South Fork tributaries, drawing on her decade leading the Henry's Fork Foundation and her service on the Governor's Task Force on Irrigation Water Conservation. She has stated her support for leaving water management decisions to irrigators most affected rather than politicizing the process, per East Idaho News. On governance, Brown has consistently emphasized collaborative, consensus-based problem-solving as her governing approach, describing it as superior to adversarial politics. In her August 2025 Post Register op-ed, she wrote that the Democratic Party has made a difference in conserving Idaho's rivers, wildlife, and public lands, and in striving for quality education for every child. On conservation and public lands, her 43-year career reflects a consistent commitment to protecting Greater Yellowstone ecosystems and outdoor recreation resources through cooperative approaches that balance agricultural, conservation, and recreation interests.

Political Alignment

Brown is a Mainstream Democrat. Her governing philosophy emphasizes collaboration, pragmatic problem-solving, and working across party lines, reflecting the approach of a career conservationist who built agreements between farmers and anglers in one of Idaho's most politically complex watersheds. Her Democratic Party leadership roles, her service in the Evans administration, and her stated commitment to conservation and quality education reflect core Democratic values without activist or progressive framing.

Campaign and Endorsements

Brown is running in the May 19, 2026, Democratic primary for Senate District 33. No formal endorsements for her 2026 Senate campaign have been publicly reported as of April 2026. Campaign finance records are available through the Idaho Secretary of State's Sunshine database.