Kathryn Larson

Kathryn Larson: Independent Candidate for Idaho House District 1B

Overview

Kathryn Larson is an independent candidate for the Idaho House of Representatives, District 1B, which covers Bonner and Boundary counties in North Idaho. She is a challenger running against Republican incumbent Cornel Rasor in the November 3, 2026 general election. Larson previously sought the same seat in 2024 as the Democratic nominee, losing to Rasor in the general election. She has since re-filed as an independent. Larson lives in Sagle.

Background

Larson holds a bachelor of science degree in geology and completed postgraduate work in education and organizational development. Bonner County Daily Bee She attended Regis University and earned her undergraduate degree from Southern Methodist University in 1980. Ballotpedia She was born in Dallas, Texas, and has lived in Sagle since 2015, having relocated from Colorado with her husband, who grew up in North Idaho and Spokane. Ballotpedia

Larson co-founded a technology company with her husband and has worked around the globe advising the leaders of well-known organizations. Bonner County Daily Bee Her consulting career focused on helping organizations identify the downstream consequences of decisions before implementation. She has described her approach as getting results without unnecessary noise. Her background also includes game design, which she credits with teaching her to think through how systems interact and produce long- and short-term effects. Ballotpedia

Today Larson focuses her time locally. She volunteers with several nonprofits in the region, leads a peer problem-solving group for Inland Northwest business leaders, creates glass art at a local cooperative, and grows vegetables. She is an artist at the local cooperative Artworks. Ballotpedia

Political Career

Larson has not previously held elected office. She first sought the House 1B seat in 2024 as a Democrat, taking 28.7% of the vote against Rasor’s 71.3% in the general election. Sandpoint Reader She is repeating her challenge in 2026, this time filing as an independent. Sandpoint Reader The Democratic primary for District 1B was canceled for 2026, and Larson is running directly in the November 3, 2026 general election as an independent. Ballotpedia

Policy Positions

On fiscal policy, Larson has argued that the state reduced its share of local service funding from 75% to 50%, creating cost burdens on rural communities while generating large surpluses at the state level. She has called for restoring fairer state funding formulas, adjusting the homeowner’s exemption to reflect current housing prices, creating tax incentives for local housing, increasing the grocery tax credit, and accepting federal funds the state has declined. Bonner County Daily Bee

On education, Larson has argued that recent school funding legislation structured appropriations in ways that do not meaningfully benefit schools and disadvantage rural districts. She has stated that she supports public libraries and has cited legislative efforts to restrict library collections as an example of state overreach that does not serve District 1 constituents.

On healthcare, Larson has argued that laws creating legal jeopardy for providers make it harder to attract doctors to rural areas, and that Idaho should accept available federal funding to support mental health, elder care, reproductive care, and chronic condition management. Bonner County Daily Bee She has stated this concern extends beyond reproductive healthcare to the broader challenge of rural provider shortages in North Idaho.

On public lands, Larson has stated that North Idaho’s quality of life depends on its forests, lakes, recreation, and wilderness resources, and that transferring federal public lands to state ownership would likely result in those lands being sold off. She has called instead for supporting existing multi-use stakeholder organizations. Bonner County Daily Bee

On local governance, Larson has framed her candidacy around a critique of what she describes as state-level overreach into local decision-making. On her campaign website, she argues that bills coming from the legislature increasingly take decisions away from local communities and impose one-size-fits-all rules, sometimes placing cities and counties under tighter state control or creating new unfunded responsibilities. Kathrynlarsonforidaho

Larson has described the Idaho Freedom Foundation as a significant outside influence on Idaho legislative priorities. In materials submitted to Ballotpedia, she wrote that the state’s legislature is controlled by a “Boise-based, nationally-driven” organization funded through dark money, and that IFF ratings function as “obedience scores” rather than conservative assessments. Ballotpedia

Political Alignment

Larson appears aligned with the Moderate Democrat classification, running this cycle as an independent. Her documented policy positions on education funding, healthcare access, public lands protection, and state fiscal policy are consistent with center-left Democratic governance. Her decision to re-file outside the Democratic Party reflects a strategic calculation about the political landscape of District 1 rather than a departure from her substantive policy views, which have remained consistent between her 2024 campaign materials and her 2026 platform. Her campaign website frames her independent status in terms of local pragmatism, stating that District 1 does not need “another vote for a party agenda.” Kathrynlarsonforidaho Her endorsers as listed on her campaign website include the Idaho Education Association and Veterans for Idaho Values (V4IV), both of which align with a center-left political profile in the Idaho context.

Campaign and Endorsements

Larson’s campaign website lists endorsements from the Idaho Education Association and Veterans for Idaho Values. Kathrynlarsonforidaho No additional organizational endorsements have been publicly reported as of April 2026. Her campaign is based in Sandpoint and emphasizes three pillars: local decision-making, working infrastructure, and economic affordability for District 1 residents. As reported by the Sandpoint Reader, she is a strategy and management consultant with international experience and postgraduate work in education and organizational development. Sandpoint Reader

FAQ

Who is Kathryn Larson Idaho? Kathryn Larson is an independent candidate for the Idaho House of Representatives, District 1B, covering Bonner and Boundary counties in North Idaho. She is a consultant and artist who lives in Sagle.

What district is Kathryn Larson running in? Larson is running in Idaho House District 1B, which encompasses Bonner and Boundary counties.

Is Kathryn Larson an incumbent or challenger? She is a challenger. Larson has not previously held elected office. She ran as the Democratic nominee for District 1B in 2024 and is running again in 2026 as an independent.

What are Kathryn Larson’s political positions? Larson supports restoring state funding formulas for local services, protecting federal public lands, expanding rural healthcare access, and keeping decision-making authority at the local level. She has been critical of Idaho Freedom Foundation influence on legislative priorities.

2024 Democratic Primary Election Results Larson 92% / Vickaryous 8% (approximately)

2024 General Election Results Rasor 22,565 / Larson 9,067

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