Lori McCann

When Rep. Lori McCann was appointed to fill a seat vacated by a Lewiston lawmaker accused of sexual assault, she promised the House speaker that she will work tirelessly to bring honor back to the role. And though she had heard that some felt strongly a woman should fill the vacancy, McCann said the key was getting someone with a strong sense of ethical behavior. And she said she fits the bill. “I just wanted someone in there that had strong ethics and strong honor that they would bring to this seat,” McCann said. “I told the speaker that, for sure, I would work very hard to restore that honor and to not embarrass the House, because I know that’s what happened and that’s unfortunate.” Gov. Brad Little on Monday announced McCann as his pick to replace Aaron von Ehlinger, a Lewiston Republican who resigned after a 19-year-old intern accused him of sexual assault. A House ethics panel investigated and unanimously ruled that he acted in “conduct unbecoming” of a representative — other instances of his behavior with women at the Statehouse came to light — and recommended expelling him from his seat. He stepped down before the House could vote on the matter.

Lori McCann decided she couldn’t sit back and take it anymore, she told the Idaho Statesman. The Republican lawmaker announced Aug. 15 that she had been censured by her own party for the third time this year — this time by the Latah County Republican Central Committee, over votes she cast during the 2023 legislative session. “It’s a bigger issue than just me and Latah County,” McCann told the Statesman in an interview. “It’s about Idaho GOP politics and what’s going on in our entire state. There’s a lot of mistreatment against some real good legislators who are more in the middle or are trying to work with all the Republicans.“ McCann’s is the latest in a series of admonishments that Idaho Republicans have handed down to their own party members this year. The longtime Republican said it’s an unusual and concerning trend that she views as a push to move legislators further right toward “fringe ideals that have been cultivated from the Libertarian Party.”