Paul M. Smith

Paul M. Smith: Idaho House District 23, Seat A

Paul M. Smith is the Constitution Party nominee for Idaho House District 23, Seat A, on the November 3, 2026 general election ballot. As the party's sole filer, he advanced without a primary contest. He faces Republican incumbent Chris Bruce after Democrat Emily Fisher withdrew from the race on August 26, 2026. Both Bruce and Fisher declined to respond to a candidate survey from Idaho television station CBS2/FOX9, which left Smith as the only District 23, Seat A candidate to answer it.

Prior campaigns

Smith has run for office twice before, according to the Idaho Secretary of State's official election database. In 2006, he ran for U.S. House in Idaho's 1st Congressional District as the Constitution Party nominee. He finished last in a five-candidate field won by Republican Bill Sali, taking 2,457 votes, or 1.1 percent.

In 2024, he ran for Idaho Senate District 23. He won the Constitution Party primary unopposed with 21 votes, then lost the general election to Republican incumbent Todd Lakey, finishing third with 1,030 votes (4.1 percent) behind Lakey's 19,455 and Democrat Paul Morgan's 4,519.

What Smith says about himself

Smith's background information comes from his own answers to a CBS2/FOX9 candidate survey, published August 24, 2026. Per the survey, his hometown is Marsing, Idaho, and he has lived in Idaho for 23 years. He lists an Army career as an aircraft mechanic and sheet metal fabricator, work as a senior R&D technician for a major medical device manufacturer, and a role as co-founder of the Marsing Emergency Network. He also says he ran for State Senate in Nez Perce County in 2004. These details are self-reported in his survey responses; the Secretary of State's database confirms only his 2006 and 2024 campaigns.

His stated positions

Smith named his top district priorities in his own words: "Water rights, land development, Federal and State gov't intrusion."

On abortion, he called it the biggest issue the legislature has not resolved. In his exact words, the "biggest issue that has not been RESOLVED is child sacrifice, also euphemistically called 'abortion.'"

On Idaho's recent budget shortfalls, Smith wrote that he falls in line with the Idaho Freedom Foundation's approach, which he summarized as "quit spending!" He proposed phasing out what he called "the biggest drains on the economy, public education, welfare etc." and opening forests to harvesting at the level of their regenerative capacity.

On representation, Smith wrote that the "will of the People" is not necessarily the benchmark for proper governance unless that will is constrained by the Constitution. He predicted that, without support from what he called the "uni party," he is likely to "be drowned out by hirelings," adding that he is "not shy about entering into the foray."

In his closing survey statement, Smith described himself as standing outside the "uniparty system" on the principles the country was founded on. He criticized government as "top heavy and corrupt," citing paybacks through lobbying organizations such as the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry, and argued that voters who approve public spending burden their neighbors. He called a hypothetical eminent-domain taking approved by a slim majority "theft, and is the very antithesis of a Constitutional Republic."

Campaign finance

Smith's 2026 campaign finance filing on Idaho's Sunshine portal, under his full legal name Paul Manley Smith, shows $0.00 in contributions, expenditures, cash balance, and debt. No campaign website or social media presence for his 2026 run turned up in this search.

Sources

• 2026 general election survey: State Representative District 23A, Idaho News (CBS2/FOX9), August 24, 2026
• Paul Smith (C), Idaho Secretary of State elections database
• Paul Manley Smith candidate profile, Idaho Sunshine campaign finance portal