Jennifer Stephens

Jennifer Stephens: Idaho House District 20, Seat A

Jennifer Stephens, a first-time candidate for state office, is the Democratic nominee for Idaho House District 20, Seat A, on the November 3, 2026 general election ballot. She is running against Republican incumbent Joe A. Palmer. Stephens ran unopposed in the May 19, 2026 Democratic primary and received 1,318 votes, or 100 percent, per certified Idaho Secretary of State results.

Background

Stephens grew up in a military family. "Back when the Idaho desert was home to the US Navy's land-based submarine training ground," she writes in her CBS2/FOX9 candidate survey. Her hometown is Idaho Falls, where she graduated from Idaho Falls High School. She attended the University of Idaho and earned a degree in law there.

She has lived in Idaho for 35 years. She works as a local attorney and as an adjunct instructor for the University of Idaho. Her campaign site describes her as "a dedicated attorney and local educator" whose background is "rooted in advocating for fairness in the courtroom and fostering potential in the classroom."

Where she stands

Stephens named three top priorities for her district in her survey response. On growth, she wrote: "District 20 is seeing unprecedented levels of construction and population growth. We need workable housing supply reform and someone to insist upon infrastructure and transportation funding being secured."

On affordability, she pointed to schools: "District 20 sits within the West Ada School District. Their budget cuts have in turn reduced the financial security of our own teachers and administrators." She added that "with inflation and gas prices mounting, our district needs leadership that will work to bring down costs."

Her third priority is local and specific: "We know rats are proliferating in the area. Attention must be paid now to keep this problem under control."

On the biggest issue the legislature is not addressing, she pointed at the legislature itself. "This year's session concluded with very little done for the benefit of the Idaho people," she wrote. "When one party holds 85% of our legislative seats, they lose accountability for how they vote and who they represent. I'm running to bring balance and a spirit of collaboration back to the Idaho statehouse."

On Idaho's recent budget shortfalls, she placed responsibility with lawmakers: "Budgets are drafted, debated, and passed by our legislators. The cause of these shortfalls and miscalculations this year rest largely on them." She wrote that budgets for education, Medicaid, behavioral health services, and public legal defense "were gutted with little thought to how it would affect the lives of everyday Idahoans," and that transportation and infrastructure projects "remain underfunded."

Her stated solutions include housing supply reforms, targeted tax credits, eliminating the Idaho grocery tax, and continued support for the Idaho Launch program, which helps students pay for education or training after high school.

Her campaign site lists three named priorities: "Infrastructure and Growth," "Balance and Integrity," and "Protecting Shared Values." Under the first, she commits to "restore affordability with housing supply reforms and targeted tax credits."

Personal stakes

Stephens framed her reasons for running around her own family. "My children and nephews attend schools in District 20, where West Ada School District is seeing the effects of steep funding cuts," she wrote in the survey. She also noted that her widowed mother lives in the district, and that she worries "what continued cuts and obstacles to healthcare will mean for her well being."

"We're long-time Idahoans who are finding it harder and harder to make ends meet in our own state," she wrote. "Voting for me is to vote for the everyday Idahoan."

Campaign finance

Stephens had raised $5,166.36 in total contributions for the 2026 election cycle as of her most recent filed report, per her Idaho Secretary of State Sunshine portal profile. She also reported $3,100.00 in loans received, $2,447.88 in total expenditures, an ending cash balance of $5,818.48, and $3,100.00 in outstanding debt, which matches the loan amount.

Her top itemized contributors are Steven Hoyem of Boise ($1,000), Tarah Wheeler of Kennewick, Washington ($800), and Heidi Merhar of Boise ($500). Other itemized contributions came in amounts of $277.78 or less, from donors in Boise, Washington, D.C., Ohio, Texas, and elsewhere.

Opponent's survey response

CBS2/FOX9 reported that Palmer "did not respond to the survey in time." The outlet contacted every candidate in these races with the same series of questions and gave a week to respond.

Sources

• 2026 general election survey: State Representative District 20A, CBS2/FOX9 (idahonews.com)
• Stephens for Idaho, campaign site
• Idaho Secretary of State, May 19, 2026 primary election official results
• Idaho Secretary of State Sunshine portal, campaign finance profile for Jennifer Lee Stephens