Jilene Burger

Jilene Burger: Idaho Republican Challenger for House District 33B

Jilene Burger is a Republican candidate challenging incumbent Marco Erickson for the Idaho House of Representatives in District 33B, which covers a central section of Idaho Falls. Burger lives in Idaho Falls and is running in the May 19, 2026, Republican primary. This is her second consecutive campaign against Erickson, having lost to him in the May 2024 primary. She has no prior legislative experience.

Background

Burger was born in Provo, Utah, and spent her childhood across multiple states. As a university student, she worked three summers in Washington, D.C., for the Department of State and the Internal Revenue Service. She and her late husband David Burger moved to Idaho Falls in 1981. She worked as an elementary classroom and music teacher, per her May 2024 East Idaho News candidate questionnaire. Her husband taught band at Idaho Falls High School for 30 years. Both played in the Idaho Falls Symphony for more than three decades. After her husband's death in 2012, Burger became active in Republican Party politics, serving as a precinct committee officer for approximately 13 years. She was subsequently elected chairwoman of the Legislative District 33 Republican Committee. She ran unsuccessfully for Idaho Falls City Council in 2023.

Political Career

Burger has not previously held elected office. She ran unsuccessfully for Idaho Falls City Council in 2023 and lost the 2024 Republican primary for House District 33B to incumbent Marco Erickson, per Ballotpedia. She filed again for the 2026 Republican primary in the same race. As chairwoman of the Legislative District 33 Republican Committee, Burger was a central figure in platform enforcement proceedings in late 2023 and early 2024. The Post Register reported that the committee initiated formal complaints against all three District 33 legislators, Reps. Barbara Ehardt and Marco Erickson and Sen. Dave Lent, alleging violations of the Idaho GOP party platform. The proceedings applied IFF Freedom Index scores as a measure of platform compliance. Sen. Lent noted in the Post Register that "They're using the Idaho Freedom Foundation scoring table to judge me against the platform." The committee subsequently issued no-confidence votes against Erickson and Lent, per East Idaho News. Every legislator subjected to censure proceedings won re-election in the May 2024 primary. Following that election, Burger was replaced as District 33 Committee chairwoman, as reported by East Idaho News.

Policy Positions

Burger's documented positions draw primarily from her May 2024 East Idaho News candidate questionnaire and her campaign website. On taxes and spending, Burger stated that in her view no part of the state budget needs more funding, and expressed support for repealing the grocery tax and reducing or repealing property taxes. She described her platform as one of fiscal and social responsibility and a return to limited government spending. She argued that the government wrongly assumes authority to redistribute wealth and said she would limit state spending to core functions such as police, fire, defense, and transportation. On education, Burger called the Idaho Launch workforce scholarship program a "grievous mistake," objecting to the restriction of the award to certain fields of study. She also expressed support for parental rights in education and for what she described as a free-market approach to schooling. Her campaign website characterizes incumbent Erickson as "liberal leaning" and cites a no-confidence vote the Bonneville County Republican Central Committee passed against him in 2024 as a reason to replace him.

Political Alignment

Burger is aligned with the Far-Right Extremist tier of Idaho Republican politics. The most direct evidence is her leadership of platform enforcement proceedings that applied the Idaho GOP platform as a binding governing standard for sitting Republican legislators, using IFF Freedom Index scores as the compliance measure, as documented by the Post Register. Former Idaho Republican Party leaders called for a "course correction" in response to these proceedings, as reported by East Idaho News. Burger has run a sustained multi-cycle campaign against Erickson, a legislator censured by her committee, characterizing him as insufficiently conservative for District 33. Her explicit use of the party platform as a governing document rather than a political statement, documented across multiple credible news sources, supports a Far-Right Extremist classification by Idaho political standards.

Public Controversies or Criticism

The platform enforcement proceedings Burger led drew significant public criticism. Former state GOP leaders called for a "course correction" in response to the proceedings, per East Idaho News. Targeted legislators declined to participate in hearings whose votes were held by secret ballot. Every legislator subjected to proceedings won re-election in the May 2024 primary. The post-primary Bonneville County Republican committee elected new leadership, replacing Burger and others associated with the enforcement effort, per East Idaho News.

Campaign and Endorsements

Burger's 2026 campaign centers on fiscal conservatism, property tax reduction, grocery tax repeal, and opposition to incumbent Erickson. Her campaign website is jileneburger4legislature.com. Campaign finance records are available through the Idaho Secretary of State's Sunshine database. No third-party endorsements for her 2026 campaign have been publicly reported as of April 2026.