Mary Mosley

Mary A. Mosley: Idaho House District 20, Seat B

Mary A. Mosley, a retired educator from Meridian, is the Democratic nominee for Idaho House District 20, Seat B. She is running against Republican incumbent James D. Holtzclaw, who is seeking his seventh term, in the November 3, 2026 general election. Mosley ran unopposed in the May 19, 2026 Democratic primary, receiving 1,296 votes, or 100 percent, according to certified Idaho Secretary of State results.

She is a first-time candidate. Her platform comes directly from the past four years she has spent lobbying the Idaho Legislature as part of the American Association of University Women of Idaho's Lobby Corps, and she says that experience is what pushed her into the race.

Background

Mosley was born in Nampa and lived on a farm in Meridian until she was five or six, when her family moved to Nampa. She now lives in Meridian. Her family's roots in the state run deep. In her candidate survey responses, she wrote that her "grandfathers moved to Idaho in 1880 and 1909 respectively, so I have deep roots here," and that even while living in the Midwest, her family came "home" to Idaho every summer. She counts 31 total years living in the state.

She is a retired educator who taught in Missouri, Illinois, and Ohio, and describes herself as "a strong supporter of public education." While living in Missouri, she said she "learned a lot about how the legislature worked by spending some time lobbying." Since moving back to Idaho, she has been active with AAUW of Idaho, a nonprofit with more than 300 members in six branches that advocates for educational equity for women and girls, and has headed up its Lobby Corps for the past four years.

That work is the reason she's running. "I have found that the Idaho legislature is out of step with Idahoans, and not enough legislators pay attention to what their constituents think is important," she wrote in her survey response. "They spend too much time on culture war-issues and not enough time on solving Idaho's problems." She also mentions her two granddaughters: "I want Idaho to be a good place for them to grow up and thrive."

Where she stands

CBS2/FOX9 sent the same survey to every candidate in the 2026 legislative races. Mosley responded in full. Holtzclaw did not respond to the survey in time, according to the outlet. His positions are not quoted here.

Mosley named education as the top priority in her district, "closely followed by healthcare." On education, she wrote that Idaho "has been at the bottom of the states for funding public education for several years," and criticized a recent legislative decision: "last year the legislature chose to divert $50 million to families to put their children in private schools with no accountability. This is shocking." She added that "there are not even any safeguards for fraud in the law," and said special education has suffered, citing families "spending thousands of dollars to get their disabled children the help they need because the public schools do not provide services for them."

On healthcare, she criticized Medicaid work requirements as an attempt "to knock people off the program who can't deal with the reporting," noting that "most people on Medicaid are already working." She argued that "Idaho doesn't have enough doctors for its growing population," and that "severe restrictions on abortion are driving doctors out of the state."

Access to legislators is a recurring theme for her. She wrote that she was "astounded that the Representatives' offices are locked and constituents have no access to them," and said she plans to be available to meet with constituents both at the Capitol and in the district.

Asked about the biggest issue the legislature isn't addressing, she pointed to the budget: "Our priorities as a state are out of whack when we spend more money on incarceration than on education." On Idaho's recent budget shortfalls, her solutions include stopping "tax breaks to the already wealthy and to big businesses" and reassessing business tax credits "that have been enacted over the years but have never been reviewed."

She also criticized a legislative committee reviewing state government, saying it "could have done this had they not been so busy with eliminating programs they opposed on ideological grounds like the Hispanic Commission and the Women's Commission." In the same answer, she added a correction of her own: "While they did not eliminate the Hispanic Commission, they did abolish the Women's Commission, which was unfunded anyway, so no money was saved there." She also said the legislature should stop passing "ill-conceived, hastily-written bills that they later have to spend a lot of money defending in the courts."

Her closing argument

Mosley's final survey statement is the sharpest of her answers. "For too long the legislature has ignored the will of the common people of Idaho and carried out the wishes of extremist groups like the Idaho Freedom Foundation and the Idaho Family Policy Center," she wrote. She criticized lawmakers for suspending rules to move bills quickly, passing measures despite heavy public testimony against them, and using the "radiator cap" maneuver, which she said brings a bill to the floor with no opportunity for public input.

Her closing line is aimed at the incumbent: "My opponent has been in office for the past 14 years. Time for a change." That is her stated argument, presented here as she made it.

Campaign finance

Mosley's campaign is running small, according to her Idaho Secretary of State Sunshine portal filing for the 2026 cycle. She has reported $90.00 in total contributions, all from in-state individuals, along with $1,970.00 in loans. She has spent nothing so far, leaving an ending cash balance of $2,060.00 and $1,970.00 in outstanding debt matching the loan.

Two contributors are itemized: Bonnie Pfaff of Boise ($50.00) and Jennifer Bolkom of Boise ($40.00). Pfaff is also listed as finance officer on AAUW of Idaho's board, per the organization's website.

Sources

• 2026 general election survey: State Representative District 20B, CBS2/FOX9
• Idaho Secretary of State, May 19, 2026 primary election official results
• Idaho Secretary of State Sunshine portal, candidate financial disclosure for Mary A Mosley
• About AAUW of Idaho