Idaho General Election · November 3, 2026Find polling place
Democrat

Monica Church

Incumbent
Monica Church

Idaho House of Representatives, District 19 Seat A

Campaign website:Campaign Website
Phone:(208) 332-1078
Email:MChurch@house.idaho.gov
Facebook:Campaign Facebook Page
Campaign finance:Campaign Finance
City:Boise

Monica Church: Democratic incumbent for Idaho House District 19, Seat A

Monica Church, a Democrat and first-term state representative, is running for reelection to Idaho House District 19, Seat A, on the November 3, 2026 general election ballot against Republican challenger Bryan Hopkins. She ran unopposed in the May 19, 2026 Democratic primary, receiving 3,876 votes, or 100 percent, per certified Idaho Secretary of State results. Neither Church nor Hopkins responded to the CBS2/FOX9 candidate survey for this race; the survey page states both candidates "did not respond to the survey in time." Her stated positions below therefore come from her own campaign materials rather than from a candidate questionnaire.

Background

Church was born in Boise, according to her official Idaho Legislature biography, which lists her occupation as Educator. She holds a B.A. in history and a B.A. in social studies secondary education from Boise State University, a B.A. in philosophy from Whitman College, and an M.S.Ed. in education leadership and administration from Boise State. Before taking office in 2024, she spent nearly two decades as a public school educator, and she remains a licensed educator and administrator.

Her campaign site describes her as "the granddaughter of great Idaho public servants, Cecil and Carol Andrus and Frank and Bethine Church." Cecil Andrus served four terms as Idaho governor and was U.S. Interior Secretary; Frank Church represented Idaho for 24 years in the U.S. Senate. Boise State Public Radio made the same family connection in its January 2025 profile. Church has also been active in civic work outside the classroom: she serves on the boards of the Andrus Center for Public Policy at Boise State and the Sawtooth Society, and she has been an appointed Ethics Commissioner for the City of Boise, per her campaign site.

Legislative record

Church frames her legislative work around her teaching career. In a January 2025 interview with Boise State Public Radio, she said she had "taught in 88 schools in this state … 66 counties." She told the station she would keep teaching while serving in the Legislature. "I would not leave education to be a legislator. I am a legislator because I'm an educator," she said. Looking ahead to debates over private-school funding in the GOP-controlled Statehouse, she predicted that voucher expansion was "guaranteed … because that's what leadership in the majority [GOP] party has said openly."

In April 2025, Church co-authored an opinion piece in Idaho Education News with Rep. Nate Dean arguing for a bill requiring Idaho schools to test drinking water for lead and to test buildings for radon and toxic mold. Idaho has no law requiring such testing, the piece states. Their bill, HB458, was printed too late in the 2025 session to receive a hearing; the legislators wrote that they planned to reprint it in January 2026.

In January 2026, Church sponsored a House resolution condemning political violence against state and public servants, citing the killing of commentator Charlie Kirk, the killings of Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, and the July ambush of Coeur d'Alene firefighters, according to the Idaho Press. She told the House State Affairs Committee that Idaho State Police had reached out the previous year to discuss her own security. Rep. Joe Alfieri, a Republican from Coeur d'Alene, moved to introduce the resolution, and the committee voted to advance it.

Also in January 2026, per Idaho Education News, Church voted against a bill to close the Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs. The closure attempt failed on a 7-7 committee tie.

Her most recent public legislative fight concerns House Bill 728, which she sponsored in 2026 and which passed the Legislature 98-1. The bill moved instructional coaches out of the "instructional staff" funding category and into a new "instructional support staff" category, but it did not say how the new category would be funded. That gap created confusion in districts negotiating salaries for the coming school year. Church told Idaho Education News in May 2026 that the Idaho Department of Education's guidance, which told districts to keep paying coaches as instructional staff, was wrong. "That is not the intent, nor is that the language as it is written in the bill," she said. Department spokesperson Andrea Dearden countered that the department follows the law as written, not as intended, and said no new guidance was coming. Church said coaches are "great and wonderful" but are essentially administrators, since they don't take substitutes, engage with parents, or grade students, and argued they should be funded and paid as administrators rather than out of money set aside for classroom teachers. The dispute remained unresolved as of the May 7, 2026 report.

Where she stands

Church did not respond to the CBS2/FOX9 survey for this race, so her stated positions come from her campaign site, where she lists her commitments in her own words:

  • Fully funded K-12 education, pre-K investment, and affordable access to higher education and technical schools
  • Land conservation and protection of clean air, clean water, and public lands
  • Expanding access to affordable healthcare, including mental health services and complete reproductive care
  • Housing policies she says should ensure "every Idahoan, regardless of background," has access to safe, affordable housing
  • Defending voting rights and ballot access for every generation of voters
  • A local tax option for cities and counties to fund services for children, the elderly, and public health

Her site also describes her as a proud union member and lists endorsements from the Idaho Education Association Political Action Committee for Education, Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, and Conservation Voters for Idaho, whose political endorsement and Public Lands Defender Award she says she received for the 2026 cycle. Mom's Demand Action named her a Gun Sense Candidate, per her campaign site.

Campaign finance

Per her profile on Idaho's Sunshine portal, the state's campaign disclosure database, Church's 2026 campaign committee reported $26,677.43 in total contributions, with $24,332.43 from in-state donors and $2,325.00 from out-of-state. Total expenditures were $34,710.82, leaving an ending cash balance of $6,617.70 and no outstanding debt.

Sources

Profile published by IdahoVoters.com. Last updated September 26, 2026. This profile will be updated as additional information becomes available.

Frequently asked questions

What office is Monica Church running for?
She is the Democratic incumbent for Idaho House District 19, Seat A, seeking reelection on November 3, 2026.
Who is her opponent?
Republican Bryan Hopkins.
Has she served before?
No. She took office in 2024 and this is her first term. She currently serves as House Minority Caucus Chair, per her Legislature biography.
Is she related to Cecil Andrus and Frank Church?
Her campaign site describes her as the granddaughter of Cecil and Carol Andrus and Frank and Bethine Church. Cecil Andrus served four terms as Idaho governor and later as U.S. Interior Secretary; Frank Church represented Idaho in the U.S. Senate for 24 years.
What is her professional background?
She spent nearly two decades as a public school educator before taking office in 2024 and remains a licensed educator and administrator. She holds degrees from Boise State University and Whitman College, including an M.S.Ed. in education leadership and administration.
What committees does she serve on?
For 2026, her Legislature biography lists assignments on the Local Government, Resources and Conservation, State Affairs, and Ways and Means committees.
Did she face a primary challenge in 2026?
No. She ran unopposed in the May 19, 2026 Democratic primary and received 3,876 votes, or 100 percent, per certified Idaho Secretary of State results.
Who has endorsed her?
Her campaign site lists endorsements from the Idaho Education Association Political Action Committee for Education, Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, and Conservation Voters for Idaho. Mom's Demand Action named her a Gun Sense Candidate.
What has been her main legislative focus?
Public education. Her 2026 legislative work included HB728, a definitions bill aimed at directing teacher funding to classroom teachers, and a resolution condemning political violence. She has also pushed for state-required testing of school drinking water and buildings for lead, radon, and toxic mold.

Also on the ballot in District 19

Every candidate for the State Senate and both House seats in this district. See the full District 19 page.

More on the November 3 ballot