Jason A. Monks

Jason Monks: Idaho House District 22, Seat B

House Republicans elected Rep. Jason Monks of Meridian as House majority leader on February 12, 2024, during a closed-door caucus meeting. The post is the No. 2 leadership position in the Idaho House, behind the speaker, and the majority leader works with the speaker to move bills to the floor for votes. Monks succeeded Megan Blanksma, who had been abruptly ousted from the role days earlier without public explanation, according to the Idaho Capital Sun. House Republicans did not disclose the vote that elected him.

"I am humbled and grateful to have received the vote of my colleagues to serve as the Majority Leader of the Idaho House of Representatives," Monks said in a written statement at the time. "Public service is both a privilege and responsibility."

Background and candidacy

Monks is running for an eighth term representing District 22, Seat B, which covers parts of Meridian, Kuna, and southwest Boise. He was first elected in 2012 and has not lost a general election since, most recently winning 67 percent of the vote in 2024, according to the Idaho Secretary of State's elections database.

According to his Republican Party of Idaho profile, Monks paid his way through high school and supported his family in college by working construction, doing exterior stucco work. He holds a bachelor of science from Brigham Young University with a dual emphasis in environmental health and industrial hygiene, and says he now runs two businesses. Monks and his wife, Shelley, have been married for almost 30 years and have eight children, four of whom are adopted.

Leadership path

Monks chaired the House Revenue and Taxation Committee starting with the 2023 session. Before that, he was House assistant majority leader from 2019 to 2022. He gave up the Revenue and Taxation chairmanship when he became majority leader; his current committee assignments are Business, Revenue and Taxation, Transportation and Defense, and Ways and Means.

Legislative record

Monks' recent legislative work has focused on tax policy and business regulation. In 2025, he was the floor sponsor of House Bill 231, which raised the state's grocery tax credit from $120 to $155 per year. The bill passed the House 61-6-3 and the Senate 30-3-2, and was signed into law on March 13, 2025. According to the Idaho Capital Sun, Monks said he always thought the increased credit for seniors was off because in his experience teenagers eat more than seniors.

Also in 2025, Monks was the floor sponsor of House Bill 144, which exempted small sellers making under $5,000 a year from needing a sales tax permit — covering things like garage sales and egg or fruit stands. The bill passed the House 70-0-0 and was signed on March 17, 2025. Per the Idaho Capital Sun, Monks told the committee his own wife sells eggs and fruit and had to get a permit for it.

In 2026, he was the floor sponsor of House Bill 751, which expanded the STARS highway sales-tax rebate program for retail developers. It passed the House 70-0-0 and was signed on March 23, 2026.

Monks also co-sponsored House Bill 93 in 2025, which created the $50 million Parental Choice Tax Credit. The program allows families to receive $5,000 in tax credits per child enrolled in a non-public school, or $7,500 for a child with disabilities. The bill became a flashpoint in the 2026 campaign, with critics arguing it diverts money from public schools.

Stated priorities

On his Republican Party of Idaho page, Monks lists three top issues. On taxes, he writes that "your money is actually yours, it is not the government's" and that government needs to reduce the burden on individuals by eliminating wasteful programs. On the economy, he favors low and predictable tax rates, low property taxes, and a regulatory environment that "encourages not punishes" businesses. On the Constitution, he writes that it "is not a 'living entity'" and that changes to it should come through the constitutional amendment process rather than the courts.

Campaign finance and the general election

According to the Idaho Sunshine campaign finance portal, as of his last filed report, Monks has raised $64,050 this election cycle, spent $33,766.30, and ended with $53,621.45 in cash on hand and no debt. His largest reported contributions include $2,000 each from Altria Client Services and the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation, $1,500 from Jeremy Chou of Boise, and $1,000 each from Airbnb, PacificSource, the UHFG Insurance PAC, the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, Syringa Networks, Simplot, and the Committee to Elect John Vanderwoude.

His November opponent is Amanda Easley, a Democrat and former veterinary technician who now works as a sales consultant for a veterinary supply company. She entered the race in late February after seeing a Facebook post from the group Idaho Women Forward asking members to run against uncontested incumbents, according to Idaho Education News. Easley and her wife, Karlie, who is running for the district's Senate seat against Majority Leader Lori Den Hartog, have built their campaign around social media videos and door-to-door canvassing. Easley has argued that District 22 was "essentially the epicenter for this voucher program" and has said she would fight to repeal the Parental Choice Tax Credit if elected.

Both Monks and Den Hartog attended a town hall event in October to discuss the Parental Choice Tax Credit, where many attendees were critical of the program, per Idaho Education News. Monks did not respond to the 2026 CBS2/FOX9 candidate survey for the general election.

District 22 is not typically counted among Idaho's swing districts, and Monks has raised nearly five times what Easley has this cycle. But Easley's campaign has pointed to the abortion ballot initiative expected on the November ballot and to voter frustration with education funding as reasons the race may draw more attention than past cycles. A matchup between a seventh-term incumbent in House leadership and a first-time candidate puts the district's positions on school funding and tax policy directly in front of voters.

Sources

• Rep. Jason Monks, Idaho State Legislature member page
• Rep. Jason Monks named Idaho House majority leader, Idaho Capital Sun
• Idaho's grocery tax credit would increase to $155 under new bill, Idaho Capital Sun
• New Idaho bill would exempt small sellers from obtaining sales tax permit, Idaho Capital Sun
• House Bill 231 (2025), official bill record, Idaho Legislature
• House Bill 144 (2025), official bill record, Idaho Legislature
• House Bill 751 (2026), official bill record, Idaho Legislature
• House Bill 93 (2025), official bill record, Idaho Legislature
• Jason Monks candidate profile, Republican Party of Idaho
• Jason Arthur Monks candidate profile, Idaho Sunshine campaign finance portal
• Jason A. Monks, Idaho Secretary of State elections database
• Married lesbians challenge GOP leaders in their political debut, Idaho Education News