Judy Boyle

Judy Boyle: Idaho Republican Incumbent for House District 9B

Judy Boyle is a Republican member of the Idaho House of Representatives seeking re-election in District 9B, which covers Washington and Payette counties in western Idaho. Boyle lives in Midvale and is running in the May 19, 2026 Republican primary against challenger Gregg Diacogiannis. First elected in 2008, she is currently serving her ninth term and is one of the longer-tenured members of the Idaho House. Democrat Lupita Connor is running in the general election.

Background

Judy Boyle was born and raised in Midvale, Idaho. She attended Lassen Community College, Boise State University, and the University of Idaho, though she did not complete a degree program, according to her official Idaho Legislature biography. Boyle works as a rancher and freelance writer on her farm outside Midvale. Before entering the legislature, Boyle served as the Natural Resources Director for U.S. Representative Helen Chenoweth-Hage, a conservative congresswoman from Idaho known for her opposition to federal land management policies, as noted on her Ballotpedia profile. Boyle later worked as a legislative lobbyist for the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation, a role that gave her direct experience with the agricultural and water policy issues central to her legislative career. She has also been involved in community service, including work with 4-H, the Ronald McDonald House, and the March of Dimes, as noted on her campaign website.

Political Career

Boyle won her first election to House District 9B in November 2008, defeating Democrat Jennifer Morgan with 66.8 percent of the vote. She has won every subsequent election, running unopposed in several cycles. In 2022, she defeated fellow incumbent Scott Syme in a Republican primary after redistricting placed both representatives in the same district. In November 2020, Boyle announced she would challenge Rep. Mike Moyle for House Majority Leader, telling Idaho Reports that she believed it was time for new leadership. She was unsuccessful in that bid. Boyle previously served as chair of the House Agricultural Affairs Committee and has also served on the Resources and Conservation, Education, Health and Welfare, and Revenue and Taxation committees over the course of her tenure. As of the 2026 legislative session, her current committee assignments are Resources and Conservation, State Affairs, and Transportation and Defense, according to her Idaho Legislature member profile. She also serves as chair of the Western Legislative Forestry Task Force, a multistate legislative body, as noted in her Wikipedia entry. In the 2024 session, Boyle sponsored HB 612, which would allow the Wolf Depredation Control Board to use existing funds for livestock loss compensation, and co-sponsored legislation to prohibit foreign governments and state-controlled enterprises from owning forest lands in Idaho. She also introduced a bill to criminalize out-of-state cannabis advertising directed at Idaho residents. In the 2025 session, Boyle presented HB 389 to the House Resources and Conservation Committee, which would authorize the state of Idaho to deploy firefighting resources on federal lands and seek reimbursement through litigation.

Policy Positions

Boyle's legislative record centers on natural resources, agriculture, Second Amendment rights, and opposition to federal land management authority. She has sponsored or co-sponsored most of the statutory framework governing wolf predation management in Idaho, including work on the 2002 Wolf Management Plan during her time as a substitute state senator. She also authored Idaho's constitutional amendment establishing a right to hunt, fish, and trap, as described in her Idaho Republican Party candidate profile. On federal lands policy, Boyle has consistently argued that state management produces better outcomes than federal oversight, particularly on wildfire. In a March 2025 hearing on HB 389, she told Idaho Reports that the Idaho Department of Lands suppresses fires at an average of under ten acres, compared to federal agencies that she said allow fires to reach hundreds of thousands of acres, arguing that when a fire affects the lives and property of Idaho citizens, the state has the authority to act. On the Second Amendment, Boyle's campaign website states that she views it as "the enabling language for all our Bill of Rights and the Constitution" and that she has written and sponsored many of Idaho's Second Amendment protection statutes. On education, she has stated opposition to Common Core standards, arguing that Idaho should control its own education standards entirely. She has also expressed support for eliminating the state grocery tax and transferring federal public lands to state control.

Political Alignment

Boyle is a Conservative Activist. Her Idaho Republican Party candidate page describes her as "an unapologetic conservative whose principles are based in the Bible and the Constitution," and states that she has read the Idaho GOP platform and accepts it as the standard by which her performance should be evaluated. She seconded the nomination of Dorothy Moon as Idaho GOP chair in 2022, as reported by Idaho Reports. She has been given a 100 percent rating by the American Conservative Union, as documented on her Idaho Republican Party profile. Her association with Ammon Bundy is documented across multiple news sources. As reported by KTVB and Idaho News, Boyle visited the 2016 Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupation alongside fellow Idaho legislators Sage Dixon and Heather Scott on a self-described "fact-finding mission" to meet with Bundy and occupation supporters. She later testified as a defense witness at Bundy's trespassing trial and told the court she visited Bundy's wife and children while he was in jail, as reported by Idaho Reports. Taken together with her explicit platform endorsement, her Bible-and-Constitution framing, and her record on natural resources and social legislation, Boyle is consistently positioned at the activist edge of Idaho Republican politics.

Campaign and Endorsements

Boyle has received endorsements from Idaho Chooses Life, Right to Life Idaho, and the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation, and has been given a 100 percent rating by the American Conservative Union, as documented on her Idaho Republican Party candidate profile. She has been named an honorary member of the Idaho FFA and has received multiple awards from agricultural organizations. She faces a Republican primary challenge from Gregg Diacogiannis of Fruitland, who is backed by the Idaho Freedom PAC, as documented in his campaign social media posts. Democrat Lupita Connor is running in the general election. The general election is November 3, 2026.

Public Controversies

In February 2023, Boyle co-sponsored HB 154 with state Senator Tammy Nichols, a bill that would have made it a criminal misdemeanor to administer any mRNA-based vaccine to a person or animal in Idaho. The proposal drew national criticism from medical professionals and public health experts. The American Council on Science and Health described it as among the worst-drafted legislative proposals of the year, noting it would have also preemptively banned future mRNA vaccines for cancer, RSV, and influenza then in development. The bill did not advance out of committee. In 2023, Boyle also abruptly resigned from the House Education Committee minutes after her colleagues voted 9-8 to hold a bill that would have banned school and public libraries from distributing materials deemed harmful to minors, as reported by the Idaho Capital Sun.