Jim Guthrie

Guthrie: Idaho Republican Senator for District 28

Jim Guthrie is a Republican incumbent running for re-election to the Idaho State Senate in District 28. He lives in McCammon and represents Bannock, Franklin, and Power counties in southeastern Idaho. Guthrie has served in the Senate since December 2012 and is seeking his eighth Senate term. He faces a Republican primary challenge from David Worley in the May 19, 2026 primary election.

Background

Guthrie was born on July 13, 1955, in Pocatello and has lived in the Marsh Valley area his entire life. He graduated from Marsh Valley High School and attended Idaho State University. Before entering elected office, Guthrie worked as a union journeyman carpenter from 1974 to 1979 and spent more than a decade at Ash Grove Cement in Inkom, where he served as union president for the United Cement, Lime, Gypsum, and Allied Workers Local 234 before moving into a supervisory role. He has also been self-employed as a rancher and business owner, operating a 200-head cow-calf beef operation in McCammon. His community service included coaching youth baseball and basketball and serving on the boards of the Portneuf Medical Center, the Inkom Cement Employees Credit Union, and the McCammon Ditch Company. He served on the Marsh Valley School District Board of Trustees from 1995 to 2001 and as a Bannock County Commissioner from 2001 to 2007. Guthrie and his wife, Barbara, have three children and nine grandchildren.

Political Career

Guthrie first ran for the Idaho Senate in 2006, losing the general election for District 29 by 370 votes to Democrat Diane Bilyeu. He won election to the Idaho House of Representatives in 2010 after running unopposed in the Republican primary for District 29 Seat B. Following redistricting in 2012, he ran for the open Senate seat in District 28, winning the Republican primary with 65.3% of the vote and the general election with 66.1%.

Guthrie now serves in his seventh consecutive Senate term. His current committee assignments are Chair of the Senate State Affairs Committee, Commerce and Human Resources, and Resources and Environment. The State Affairs Committee handles legislation covering elections, government administration, and constitutional matters. He previously chaired the Senate Agricultural Affairs Committee in earlier terms.

In the 2026 session, Guthrie sponsored Senate Concurrent Resolution 114, which would cap each legislator’s requests to the Legislative Services Office at ten drafted bills per year. He also introduced a bill to restore Idaho’s presidential primary election in May, saying the 2024 caucus had “estranged a lot of voters from the process.”

In March 2026, Guthrie delivered a floor speech opposing an across-the-board health and human services budget cut that drew a bipartisan standing response from senators in both parties. He argued that Idaho’s budget pressure was “in large part self-inflicted” and that legislators were tightening the belts of citizens rather than their own. The health and human services budget failed on a 10-25 vote. Also during the 2026 session, Guthrie was one of three votes against advancing a bill that would have mandated Idaho law enforcement enter 287(g) immigration enforcement agreements with federal authorities, citing concerns the bill needed further work.

Policy Positions

Guthrie’s publicly stated positions, as outlined on his campaign website, center on water rights, agriculture, education funding, and local government authority. He supports defending senior water rights and sustainable aquifer management, particularly for the Eastern Snake Plain. On education, he has called for restored school budgets, competitive teacher salaries, and expansion of vocational and technical programs aligned with Idaho’s agricultural workforce. He supports local school board authority over curriculum decisions.

On fiscal matters, Guthrie has distinguished between principled budget discipline and what he characterized in March 2026 as politically driven cuts. In a 2024 interview with East Idaho News, he argued that Idaho’s rapid population growth had inflated home prices and created housing access problems for first-time buyers, and that the Legislature needed to reconsider its approach to economic development incentives. He expressed concern that social policy debates were consuming legislative bandwidth at the expense of practical governing problems.

Political Alignment

Guthrie appears aligned with Traditional Conservative Republican governance. His record reflects rural, property-rights-oriented conservatism focused on agriculture, water, fiscal stability, and local control. He has no documented ties to the Idaho Freedom Foundation, Idaho Freedom Caucus, or Citizens Alliance of Idaho.

The IFF has scored Guthrie in the low single digits in recent sessions, recording 9.8% in 2023, 16.4% in 2024, and 8.1% in 2025, reflecting his consistent votes against the organization’s legislative priorities. The IFF has also publicly criticized his use of the State Affairs chairmanship to decline floor votes on conservative activist legislation. Additionally, Wikipedia notes that Guthrie was the only Republican senator to vote against a 2026 bathroom bill, citing concerns that it would leave transgender men with masculine features unable to use bathrooms corresponding to either gender. These votes and patterns place Guthrie well to the left of the IFF-aligned wing of the Idaho Republican Party and are consistent with a Traditional Conservative Republican classification.

Campaign and Endorsements

Ballotpedia has not identified formal endorsements for Guthrie in the 2026 race. His campaign themes center on his sixteen-year Senate record, his agricultural background, and his history of representing rural communities across Bannock, Franklin, and Power counties. As of late March 2026, Guthrie had raised $24,825 in campaign funds, compared to $3,000 raised by his primary challenger.

Public Controversies or Criticism

According to Wikipedia, in 2016 a political activist disclosed an extramarital affair between Guthrie and then-Idaho Representative Christy Perry, following an interview with Guthrie’s former wife. Guthrie’s March 2026 vote against the health and human services budget also prompted a primary challenge. Conservative activist Ryan Spoon, former chair of the Idaho Freedom Political Action Committee, endorsed primary challenger David Worley following that vote.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Jim Guthrie, Idaho? Jim Guthrie is a Republican state senator from McCammon, Idaho. He has represented Senate District 28 since 2012 and currently chairs the Senate State Affairs Committee.

What district does Jim Guthrie represent? Guthrie represents Idaho Senate District 28, which covers Bannock, Franklin, and Power counties in southeastern Idaho.

Is Jim Guthrie an incumbent? Yes. Guthrie has served in the Idaho Senate since December 2012 and previously served one term in the Idaho House of Representatives beginning in 2010.

What committees does Jim Guthrie serve on? Guthrie chairs the Senate State Affairs Committee and also sits on Commerce and Human Resources and Resources and Environment, as listed on his Idaho Legislature member profile.

What has Jim Guthrie sponsored in the Idaho Legislature? During the 2026 session, Guthrie sponsored a resolution to limit legislators’ bill drafting requests and a bill to restore Idaho’s presidential primary election. He is best known in the 2026 session for a floor speech that helped defeat a health and human services budget with across-the-board cuts, covered in detail by the Idaho Capital Sun.

2024 Primary Election Results Guthrie 6,118 / Unopposed

2024 General Election Results Guthrie 19,027 / Matter 5,139

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