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Republican

Lyle Johnstone

Lyle Johnstone candidate photo

Idaho House of Representatives, District 26 Seat B

Campaign Website:Campaign Website
Phone:(208)324-2234
Email:lyle@lyle4idaho.com
Facebook:Campaign Facebook Page
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Campaign Finance:Campaign Finance

Lyle Johnstone: Republican nominee for Idaho House District 26 Seat B

Lyle Johnstone is the Republican nominee for Idaho House District 26 Seat B on the November 3, 2026 general election ballot. He won the May 19, 2026 Republican primary unopposed with 3,617 votes. He faces Democrat Kevin Marsh in the general election. The seat is open because Rep. Jack Nelsen, R-Jerome, announced in February 2026 that he would not seek re-election, citing personal reasons. District 26 covers Jerome, Lincoln, and Blaine counties.

Background

Johnstone chairs the District 26 Republican Central Committee, which includes the county committees of all three counties in the district. He also chairs the board of the Magic Valley Liberty Alliance, a conservative political group based in the Magic Valley region. He has never held elected office. He ran for this same House seat in the Republican primary in 2022 and 2024 and lost both times to Nelsen. He won the 2026 nomination unopposed only after Nelsen chose not to run again.

Political career

Johnstone's most public role before this campaign was presiding over a formal censure of the incumbent he is now replacing. In March 2025, the Lincoln County and Blaine County Republican Central Committees voted unanimously to censure Nelsen, and the District 26 committee followed with an 18-1 vote, with one member abstaining. The censure cited Nelsen's refusal to sign the Idaho Republican Party's "Integrity in Affiliation" pledge and his votes against eight named bills during the 2025 session, on subjects including school choice, mask mandates, parental rights in education, and classroom discussion of gender identity. Separately, the Jerome County Republican committee had also been asked to censure Nelsen but could not vote because it lacked a quorum.

Johnstone, as district chair, presided over the meeting where the District 26 vote occurred. He told the Idaho Mountain Express: "It's an official way to communicate with Representative Nelsen that we're unhappy with your voting position." Nelsen responded publicly with a statement titled "Constitution First, Party Platform Second." He called himself "a lifelong Republican" and wrote: "A bill might sound reasonable in its title, but the details often tell a different story." He said he answered to District 26 voters rather than to the party platform.

The Magic Valley Liberty Alliance, which Johnstone chairs, named Nelsen its 2025 "RINO of the Year," according to Idaho Education News. The group also partnered with Young Americans for Liberty on a door-knocking campaign against Nelsen in November 2025, which Johnstone encouraged. Separately, in April 2024, the Idaho Secretary of State's office fined the Magic Valley Liberty Alliance $1,000 over an unregistered voter guide. That fine involved a different activity and an earlier date than the 2025 door-knocking campaign.

In his own words

In a 2024 candidate questionnaire for the Magic Valley Liberty Alliance, Johnstone wrote: "Forty-three percent of Idaho's budget comes from federal dollars. We must get off the federal government dole." In an archived April 2022 post on his own campaign blog, he declared "It is RINO Season!" and warned that "Idaho is in the crosshairs of the Globalists, plain and simple."

His current Idaho Republican Party candidate page lists a more general 2026 platform covering affordability, public-lands access, education, and school choice. That language reads broader than his 2022 campaign-blog rhetoric.

Sources

Profile published by IdahoVoters.com. Last updated September 24, 2026. This profile will be updated as additional information becomes available.

Frequently Asked Questions

QWho is Lyle Johnstone running against in November 2026?
AHe faces Democrat Kevin Marsh for Idaho House District 26 Seat B in the November 3, 2026 general election. The seat is open because the current holder, Rep. Jack Nelsen, chose not to seek re-election.
QWhy did Johnstone win the primary unopposed?
ANo other Republican filed to run after Nelsen announced in February 2026 that he would not seek re-election. Johnstone received all 3,617 votes cast in the May 19, 2026 primary.
QHas Johnstone held elected office before?
ANo. He has never held elected office. He lost Republican primaries for this same seat in 2022 and 2024, both times to Nelsen, and won the 2026 primary unopposed only after Nelsen chose not to run again.
QWhat was the censure of Jack Nelsen about?
ARepublican committees in Lincoln County, Blaine County, and District 26 censured Nelsen in March 2025 over his refusal to sign the Idaho GOP's "Integrity in Affiliation" pledge and his votes against eight named bills in the 2025 session. Johnstone, as district chair, presided over the final 18-1 district committee vote.
QWhat is the Magic Valley Liberty Alliance and what is Johnstone's role in it?
AIt is a conservative political group in the Magic Valley region, and Johnstone chairs its board. The group named Nelsen its 2025 "RINO of the Year" and paid a $1,000 fine in April 2024 after the Idaho Secretary of State found it had distributed an unregistered voter guide.
QWhat are Johnstone's stated positions?
AHis 2024 candidate questionnaire emphasized reducing state reliance on federal dollars, which he put at 43 percent of Idaho's budget. His current Idaho GOP candidate page lists a more general platform covering affordability, public-lands access, education, and school choice.