Mirna Pleines

Mirna Pleines, Democrat for Idaho House District 5, Seat A

Mirna Pleines is the Democratic nominee for Idaho House District 5, Seat A, on the November 3, 2026 general election ballot. She won the May 19, 2026 Democratic primary unopposed, receiving 847 votes. Her opponent is Republican incumbent Ron Mendive, who is in his seventh term in the Idaho House.

Background

Pleines moved to Coeur d'Alene in 2002, according to her campaign website. She raised two daughters as a single mother while working at $17 an hour and putting herself through school. She earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Gonzaga University and a Master of Jurisprudence in Health Law from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.

Her career has been in healthcare compliance. She worked as a Risk, Compliance, and Privacy Officer for a Critical Access Hospital in North Idaho. Today Pleines works as a Senior Compliance Professional supporting physician compliance across the region.

Her husband is a Physician Assistant and a 20-year U.S. Air Force veteran with a service-connected disability. Both of her daughters work in healthcare. Pleines is a Leadership Spokane Class of 2024 graduate and serves on the Spokane-Cagli Sister City Board.

Why she says she is running

Pleines frames her candidacy around her own economic and healthcare history. Her campaign site quotes her directly:

"I am tired of watching decisions get made in Boise by people who have never had to choose between a prescription and a grocery bill, who have never driven an hour on icy roads to reach an emergency room, and who have never built a life from scratch on a working person's wage."

She says the Idaho Legislature needs more members who have lived those realities.

The incumbent

Ron Mendive has held District 5, Seat A, since 2022, when he won 78.5 percent of the general election vote, and is serving his seventh term overall in the Idaho House, having previously represented District 3. He won his 2024 Republican primary unopposed with 6,757 votes, per the Idaho Secretary of State's election database. His official biography lists him as self-employed in construction and land services, semi-retired, and he chairs the House Resources and Conservation Committee while serving on Agricultural Affairs and Education.

His campaign site states three core values. On life, he writes that the founders included the pre-born in the definition of unalienable rights. He also lists personal property rights and the Bill of Rights as central to his platform.

His 2020 voting record gives a sense of how those positions played out in legislation. He voted for Senate Bill 1385, a criminal abortion law that would take effect only if the U.S. Supreme Court or the U.S. Constitution restored to the states their authority to prohibit abortion, which passed the House 49-18-3. He also voted for House Bill 340, a child care licensing bill defining a temporary alcohol-drug abuse treatment facility, which passed the House 44-24-1 before being vetoed by Governor Brad Little on March 30, 2020.

Stated priorities

Her campaign lists six platform areas:

• Rural healthcare access. Protecting Critical Access Hospital funding, rural provider networks, and policies that keep healthcare close to home.
• Working families. Fair wages, affordable housing, and economic opportunity in North Idaho.
• Education and workforce. Public schools, community colleges, and job-training programs.
• Rural communities and infrastructure. Local economies, infrastructure, and quality of life in District 5.
• Veterans and military families. Veterans' services, healthcare access, and economic opportunity for those who served.
• Women's health and patient rights. Protecting the patient-physician relationship and access to informed care.

On her site, Pleines describes her Critical Access Hospital work in her own words: "I have worked inside a Critical Access Hospital. I have seen the compliance pressures, the staffing challenges, and the funding battles that play out far from Boise."

Sources

• Mirna for Idaho, campaign website with biography, platform, and quotes
• Kootenai County Democratic Central Committee, candidate biography
• Idaho State Legislature, official member page for Rep. Ron Mendive
• Idaho Secretary of State Elections Database, certified results for Ron Mendive
• Ron Mendive for Idaho, campaign website with stated values
• Idaho State Legislature, Senate Bill 1385 bill history
• Idaho State Legislature, House Bill 340 bill history
• Idaho House and Senate Democrats, confirmation that Governor Brad Little vetoed House Bill 340