Ron Mendive

Ron Mendive, Republican incumbent for Idaho House District 5, Seat A

Ron Mendive, a Republican, is the incumbent candidate for Idaho House District 5, Seat A, on the November 3, 2026 general election ballot. He won his May 19, 2026 Republican primary unopposed with 6,779 votes, per Idaho Secretary of State certified results. He faces Democrat Mirna Pleines in the general election.

Background

Mendive is in his seventh term in the Idaho House. He was born in Elko, Nevada, and grew up in North Idaho's Silver Valley, where his campaign site says he spent time "fishing, hunting, skiing and enjoying life in North Idaho."

His occupation is listed as self-employed in construction and land services, semi-retired, on his official legislator page. His work history includes mining, logging, and building custom homes. He was a principal in a corporation that developed the first successful self-igniting pellet stove. He graduated from Kellogg High School and attended North Idaho College, where he met his wife, Sherlene. They have three children and six grandchildren.

He served as a precinct committeeman for five terms, according to his official legislator page.

Election history

Mendive first won the Seat A House position in District 3 in 2012, winning the primary with 50% of the vote against Jeff Tyler and the general election with 68% against David Larsen, per the Idaho Secretary of State elections database. He was reelected in 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020, and ran unopposed in 2016 and 2018. After redistricting, he won the District 5 seat in 2022 with 78.5% against Kristy Reed Johnson and in 2024 with 73.3% against Johnson and independent Robert Nonini.

Committee work

During the 2026 session, Mendive chairs the House Resources & Conservation Committee and serves on the Agricultural Affairs and Education committees, according to his legislator page.

Stated positions

His campaign site lists three values in his own words: "Life," "Liberty," and "Property." On life, he writes that "the founders included the pre-born in their definition of the unalienable right to life." On property, he writes that "the ability to own property is a God given right and the corner stone of our Republic."

His Idaho Republican Party page names his top three issues:

• Property tax relief. He notes that a proposal to remove property taxes from primary residences was not adopted this session.
• Education Savings Accounts, which he describes as allowing state education money to follow the student.
• State control of federal lands. He writes that with 62% of Idaho's land belonging to the federal government, the state is "forced to rely on federal money for our very survival."

On his party's page, he submitted the required affiliation statement affirming he supports the Idaho Republican Party Platform as the standard for evaluating his performance as a candidate and officeholder.

2020 legislation

In 2020, Mendive was the House floor sponsor of House Bill 340, which would have exempted a North Idaho youth residential drug-treatment program, the Good Samaritan Rehabilitation program operated by Rev. Tim Remington of Coeur d'Alene, from state licensing. The bill passed the House 44-24-1 on March 2, 2020, and passed the Senate as well. Governor Brad Little vetoed it on March 30, 2020, and it never became law.

During House debate, Mendive described the bill's effect: "This would name a specific program, actually. It would exempt them from licensing." Asked whether the program had issues complying with existing law, he said, "They would not be able to function in the way they function. ... This facility is able to function, at the price they function, because they are not licensed. ... They just don't want to be licensed."

Reporting on the bill by the Idaho Press noted that the original version had included conditions such as criminal background checks on employees and compliance with health and sanitation rules, and that those restrictions were removed when the bill was amended in the House. Opponents in the debate raised concerns about treating youth with substance use disorders in an unlicensed residential setting.

Also in 2020, Mendive voted for Senate Bill 1385 on final House passage, a bill that added the offense of criminal abortion to Idaho law. The bill's sponsor was the Senate State Affairs Committee, not Mendive.

Sources

• Idaho State Legislature, Rep. Ron Mendive member page, term, district, occupation, committees, education, and family details
• Idaho Secretary of State elections database, past primary and general election results
• Ron Mendive campaign site, "Meet Ron", biography and stated values
• Idaho Republican Party candidate page, stated top three issues and work history
• Idaho State Legislature, House Bill 340 (2020), bill history and veto
• Idaho Press, House debate on HB 340 and Mendive's comments
• Idaho State Legislature, Senate Bill 1385 (2020), final House vote record