Mike Pohanka

Mike Pohanka Seeks a Second Term in a Three-Way Race for Idaho House District 26, Seat A

Rep. Mike Pohanka, a Republican from Jerome, is running for reelection to Idaho House District 26, Seat A, in the November 3, 2026 general election. He faces Democrat Anita Janis and Independent Bella Schiffler, both of Jerome. Janis and Schiffler ran unopposed in their respective primaries, according to the Idaho Mountain Express, which also reported that Pohanka won his May 2026 Republican primary against Ketchum's Jeff Emerick.

District 26 covers Blaine, Lincoln, and Jerome counties. Pohanka is finishing his first term in the House, having taken office in December 2024 after winning that year's election. He lost a close race for the same seat in 2022, per his campaign biography.

The race so far

Pohanka defeated Emerick in the May 19, 2026 Republican primary, 3,218 votes to 1,065, a 75.13 percent to 24.87 percent margin. The Express candidate Q&A framed the general election matchup directly: the primary winner would face Janis and Schiffler in the fall for the two-year seat.

Background

Pohanka is a first-generation American, born in Twin Falls. His parents emigrated from Czechoslovakia and Germany after World War II; his campaign site describes his father hiking out of Czechoslovakia in the late 1940s, escaping communism, with little more than his birth certificate and a degree from the University of Prague. His father went on to work as a plant geneticist and taught horticulture at the College of Southern Idaho.

Pohanka graduated from Twin Falls High School, then earned an associate degree from the College of Southern Idaho, a bachelor's degree in management from Lewis-Clark State College, and a master's degree in management from City University. He has lived in Jerome County for more than 32 years, according to his Republican Party of Idaho candidate page. He and his wife Susan have been married for decades. They have two children and ten grandchildren.

Career before office

Pohanka spent 30 years at Idaho Power, starting as a meter reader and moving into accounting and marketing roles. His campaign site says the job put him in contact with major Idaho companies, including Chobani, Glanbia, and Sun Valley Company. He then taught economics at the College of Southern Idaho for 23 years as an adjunct and assistant professor, and retired from both.

His official legislative bio lists a long record of community work: past president of the Jerome Chamber of Commerce, the Twin Falls Chamber of Commerce, and the Rotary Club; former executive director of Jerome 20/20 Economic Development; a former reserve deputy sheriff; and a recipient of the Jerome Chamber's Citizen of the Year and Lifetime Achievement awards and Rotary International's Paul Harris Fellowship. He currently serves as a chaplain for the Idaho State Police, the Jerome County Sheriff's Office, and the Jerome City Police. His stated motto, per the legislature: "Volunteerism is the rent you pay for the space you occupy on this earth."

First term in the House

Pohanka sits on three committees in the 2026 session: Judiciary, Rules & Administration; State Affairs; and Transportation & Defense, according to the legislature's member page. His most visible legislative action came in March 2026, when House Bill 864 was introduced to classify kratom-derived alkaloids involving mitragynine as Schedule I controlled substances. The bill was read for the first time on March 10 and referred to the House Health and Welfare Committee, where it drew divided testimony. The committee held it to a later date rather than voting it up or down, and no final floor vote appears on the official record.

He also cast one vote that put him outside his caucus on a contested question. In January 2026, a committee moved to eliminate the Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs, and Pohanka was one of five House Republicans to vote no, joining Reps. Bruce Skaug, Stephanie Mickelsen, Shawn Dygert, and Erin Bingham, according to Political Potatoes.

Platform and his own words

In his Q&A responses to the Idaho Mountain Express, Pohanka laid out his priorities: education funding, water ("Idaho's lifeblood"), public safety, transportation improvements, and affordable housing. On transportation, he has voiced support for a proposed third bridge over the Snake River to ease traffic on the Perrine Bridge in Twin Falls, per his Republican Party candidate page.

Asked what legislators did wrong in the 2026 session, he pointed to budget cuts. "I feel some of the budget cuts to agencies that were made were to [sic] deep," he wrote, adding, "I felt that a hatchet was used on the budget and not a scalpel." He called on the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee to match agency requests against actual revenue.

On Blaine County issues, he flagged affordable housing and waste treatment improvements for Carey and Bellevue. "Also, partnering with local developers is the key to success," he wrote on housing in Ketchum.

Money and standing

Per the Idaho Secretary of State's Sunshine portal, Pohanka raised $70,107.62 in the 2026 cycle and had $55,853.89 cash on hand. In the 2024 cycle, when he won the seat, he raised $40,090.14 and ended with $1,439.06.

Pohanka frames his case for a second term around experience and relationships. "I bring solid leadership to the position and two years of experience at the State House," he wrote in the Express Q&A. "I have established relationships with city council members, mayors, county commissioners, state agencies, and directors and personnel along with my fellow legislators and the governor."

Sources

• Mike Pohanka for Idaho, campaign biography
• Idaho State Legislature, official member page for Rep. Mike Pohanka
• Idaho Mountain Express, candidate Q&A for District 26 House Seat A
• Republican Party of Idaho, candidate page for Mike Pohanka
• Idaho State Legislature, House Bill 864, 2026 session status
• Political Potatoes, January 27, 2026, on the Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs budget vote
• Idaho Secretary of State Sunshine portal, campaign finance data for Michael John Pohanka