Idaho General Election · November 3, 2026Find polling place
Democrat

Kathy Dawes

Kathy Dawes

Idaho House of Representatives, District 6 Seat B

Campaign website:Campaign Website
Email:kdawes208@gmail.com
Facebook:Campaign Facebook Page
Campaign finance:Campaign Finance
City:Moscow

Kathy Dawes: Democratic nominee for Idaho House District 6, Seat B

Kathy Dawes is the Democratic nominee for Idaho House District 6, Seat B, on the November 3, 2026 general election ballot. She is running a second time against Republican incumbent Brandon Mitchell, who has held the seat since 2022.

Primary result

Dawes won the May 19, 2026 Democratic primary with 2,394 votes, or 90.82 percent, over Kenneth Williams's 242 votes, or 9.18 percent, according to Idaho Secretary of State canvass data. The result is certified.

Background

Dawes and her husband, Dana, moved to Moscow in 1973 to attend graduate school at the University of Idaho, according to her campaign site. She holds a master's degree in zoology from the university. After graduate school she worked as a lab technician, started her own business doing scientific illustrations, and taught eighth-grade science in the Moscow School District for many years. The Idaho Press reported that she taught at Moscow Junior High and, after retiring, began following legislative sessions closely and giving testimony.

Community record

Her campaign site lists her as a founding member of the Moscow Arts Commission, Moscow Community Theatre, Friends of Phillips Farm Inc., and the Palouse Discovery Science Center. As an AmeriCorps volunteer at the science center, she developed hands-on science programs for rural schools in north Idaho and eastern Washington, and she and her husband continue to run programs for rural libraries in the district. She served 13 years on the Latah County Parks Board.

She is active with the Palouse Chapter of the Citizens Climate Lobby, the League of Women Voters of Idaho, and Braver Angels, a national group that works to depolarize American politics. The Idaho Press independently confirmed that she has led Braver Angels red-blue workshops pairing people of different parties to find common ground.

In 2024, the Latah County Human Rights Task Force gave her its Community Award, one of two Rosa Parks Human Rights Achievement Awards presented that year, citing her as "Volunteer and author of 'New Years Challenge', Vice-Chair of the Latah County Democrats" according to the task force's site.

The 2024 race

Dawes ran against Mitchell in 2024 and lost. Mitchell received 16,157 votes (58.1 percent) to Dawes's 11,649 (41.9 percent) in the November 5, 2024 general election, according to Idaho Secretary of State results.

Stated positions

Dawes describes her campaign in her own words on her campaign site. "I want to empower Idaho communities to develop solutions to local problems," she writes, adding that she believes "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" when communities have resources for schools, childcare, healthcare, and housing. She also writes that she wants to work toward "depolarizing" Idaho politics, drawing on her work as a trained ambassador and workshop facilitator for Braver Angels.

In the Idaho Capital Sun's 2024 candidate survey, Dawes listed her top three state budget priorities as increasing public education funding, including facilities maintenance and construction, lowering property taxes by increasing the homeowner's exemption, and eliminating the sales tax on food.

On private education funding, she wrote that she does "not support ANY method or means to use public tax dollars for private education," citing Idaho Constitution Article IX, Section 5, which she says prohibits public funds for religious education. She argued that public money for private schooling would decrease revenue for public schools and hurt rural districts with no private school options.

On climate and wildfires, she wrote that the state needs a plan to prevent the spread of wildfire and should incentivize forest stewardship by owners. She pointed to her own family's 26 acres of woodland north of Moscow, which she says the family maintains through thinning and controlled burns to reduce the risk of catastrophic fire.

She stated full support for Proposition 1, the 2024 ballot initiative to end closed party primaries and create ranked-choice voting. "I fully support Proposition 1," she wrote, saying that if voters passed it and she were elected, she would work to implement it and actively oppose repeal attempts.

On the southern border, she wrote that she does not support Idaho spending taxpayer dollars to send Idaho State Police troopers there for training. "I do not believe it is the job of the state of Idaho to address this issue which is happening in another state," she wrote, adding that those funds could be better used on problems within Idaho.

On abortion, she wrote that she supports adding health exceptions for pregnant patients to Idaho's law. "An incredible number of problems can arise during pregnancy and there are too many ways that a pregnancy can go wrong," she wrote, citing doctors leaving the state and patients with crisis pregnancies traveling elsewhere for care. "Under the current law, it is not safe to be pregnant in Idaho."

Sources

Profile published by IdahoVoters.com. Last updated September 25, 2026. This profile will be updated as additional information becomes available.

Frequently asked questions

What office is Kathy Dawes running for?
She is the Democratic nominee for Idaho House District 6, Seat B, a two-year term representing the Moscow area in the Idaho Legislature. She appears on the November 3, 2026 general election ballot against Republican incumbent Brandon Mitchell.
Has Dawes run for this seat before?
Yes. She ran against Mitchell in the November 2024 general election and lost, receiving 11,649 votes (41.9 percent) to Mitchell's 16,157 (58.1 percent), according to Idaho Secretary of State results. The 2026 race is a rematch.
What is her professional background?
She holds a master's degree in zoology from the University of Idaho and taught eighth-grade science at Moscow Junior High for many years. Before teaching, she worked as a lab technician and ran her own scientific illustration business.
What are her top budget priorities?
In her Idaho Capital Sun candidate survey, she listed increasing public education funding, including facilities maintenance and construction, lowering property taxes by increasing the homeowner's exemption, and eliminating the sales tax on food.
Where does she stand on public funding for private education?
She opposes it in any form, whether tax credits, education savings accounts, or vouchers. She cites Idaho Constitution Article IX, Section 5, and argues that public money for private schooling would drain revenue from public schools and hurt rural districts without private school options.
What is her position on Proposition 1?
She fully supports it. The initiative would end closed party primaries and create ranked-choice voting. She has said that if voters pass it and she is elected, she will work to implement it and actively oppose repeal attempts.
What did she win in 2026?
She won the May 19, 2026 Democratic primary with 2,394 votes, or 90.82 percent, over Kenneth Williams's 242 votes, or 9.18 percent, per certified Idaho Secretary of State canvass data.
Where does she stand on Idaho's abortion law?
She supports adding health exceptions for pregnant patients to Idaho's current law. In her candidate survey, she wrote that Idaho's ban is among the strictest in the nation and that it is contributing to doctors leaving the state and patients with crisis pregnancies traveling elsewhere for care.

Also on the ballot in District 6

Every candidate for the State Senate and both House seats in this district. See the full District 6 page.

More on the November 3 ballot