Karlie Easley

Karlie Easley: Idaho Senate District 22

"I'm a nurse. I'm a mom. I'm a fourth-generation, lifelong Idahoan. I oppose the private school voucher program. Public dollars belong in public schools." That's how Karlie Easley summarized her case for the Idaho State Senate in her 2026 general election survey for CBS2/FOX9. Easley, a Democrat, is challenging Republican incumbent Senate Majority Leader Lori Den Hartog in the November 3, 2026 general election.

Easley ran unopposed in the May 19, 2026 Democratic primary, receiving 1,612 votes, or 100 percent, according to certified Idaho Secretary of State results. Senate District 22 covers parts of Meridian, Kuna, and southwest Boise. Her legal name on her Secretary of State campaign filing is Karlie Anne Easley.

Background

Easley was born in Pocatello, where both sides of her family are from. Her family moved to the Treasure Valley when she was in middle school for her father's career with the State of Idaho, and she has lived in Idaho her entire life. In her CBS2/FOX9 survey response, she writes that her paternal grandparents played a significant role in raising her and "highly valued public service, hard work, and integrity."

She graduated from an Idaho public school and attended nursing school in the Treasure Valley. Her first job after nursing school was in an emergency department. After the birth of her son, she moved into hospice nursing, the specialty focused on caring for patients at the end of life. In her own words, she has "led both small and large hospice teams as well as provided direct patient care to patients across the Treasure Valley."

Easley lives in District 22 with her wife, Amanda, and their son.

A joint campaign

Her wife is running for office too. Amanda Easley filed on February 25, 2026 to run for Idaho House District 22, Seat B, the same day Karlie filed for the Senate seat, according to Idaho Education News. That puts the two of them, a married couple, on the same November ballot in the same district. Amanda saw a Facebook post from the group Idaho Women Forward asking members to run against uncontested Republican incumbents and called Karlie to pitch the idea.

The two have run a visible campaign together, posting dozens of videos on social media alongside door-knocking events and park meet-and-greets across the district. Their first video, in which Amanda says, "We're a married lesbian couple running for office in deep-red Idaho," became their most-viewed post, drawing 77,000 views and 15,000 likes. In it, Karlie said, "We're not politicians. We're moms."

The Easleys frame their campaigns as a pair. In a later video, Karlie said, "We're not just running against two incumbents. We're running against the Senate and House majority leaders, Lori Den Hartog and Jason Monks." Amanda added her own characterization of the two Republicans' roles on House Bill 93: "They were the sponsor and co-sponsor of the school voucher bill that put $50 million that could have gone into public schools into private hands instead." Idaho Education News independently confirmed that Den Hartog sponsored House Bill 93, a $50 million program that gives families a $5,000 tax credit per child enrolled in a non-public school, or $7,500 for a child with a disability; the specific description of Monks as the bill's House co-sponsor is Amanda's own characterization.

Campaign priorities: education and the voucher fight

Education funding and affordability are the top issues Easley names for District 22. "My opponent gave away $5,000 checks with no oversight or accountability to taxpayers," she wrote in her survey response, arguing that programs Idahoans depend on were cut to help pay for the tax credit and that recent education laws pushed teachers out of the profession or the state.

Her joint campaign platform with Amanda, laid out on their shared campaign website, calls for repealing House Bill 93 and House Bill 516, repealing the grocery tax, reinstating the voter-approved Medicaid expansion, protecting reproductive freedom, and protecting public lands.

Budget and tax cuts

Idaho has faced recent budget shortfalls, and Easley frames the problem as a spending question. In her survey response, she attributes the shortfalls to lower-than-expected revenue, years of tax cuts, and changes to federal tax law. Her sharpest point is about sequencing: state revenue experts projected $5.4 billion for the year, she writes, but the budget committee budgeted $5.9 billion instead. She argues lawmakers decided how to spend before knowing how much the state had.

Her proposed fixes include stopping the voucher program, reviewing sales tax exemptions, and reexamining recent tax cuts. "We need to reevaluate the $4 billion in tax reductions we've handed out to the richest Idahoans over the last 5 years," she wrote.

Campaign finance

Through her filing on the Idaho Secretary of State Sunshine portal, Easley has raised $14,896.61 this election cycle and spent $5,823.08, leaving $9,073.53 on hand. Individual donors dominate her fundraising, giving $13,721.61 of the total, with political committees contributing $750, a central committee $200, a company $125, and Easley herself $100. In-state contributions account for $13,257.26, with $1,639.35 from out of state.

Her top contributors are Jennifer Dickey, AJ Balukoff, and Susie Balukoff at $1,000 each, all of Boise, followed by Beverly Sherman at $535 and the Idaho Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee at $500. Idaho Education News reported that Den Hartog, first elected in 2014, had a $62,500 war chest, roughly seven times Easley's cash on hand at the time of that report.

Sources

• Certified May 19, 2026 primary election results, Idaho Secretary of State
• 2026 general election survey: State Senate District 22, CBS2/FOX9
• Easley for Idaho, joint campaign website
• Married lesbians challenge GOP leaders in their political debut, Idaho Education News
• Karlie Anne Easley candidate profile, Idaho Sunshine portal