Steve Miller

Rep. Steve Miller is a Republican state representative from Fairfield, currently serving in the Idaho House of Representatives for District 24 Seat B. The district covers Camas County, Gooding County, and rural portions of Twin Falls County in the Magic Valley. He is a third-generation farmer and rancher, Vice Chair of House Appropriations, and a longtime member of the budget-writing Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, as documented on his Ballotpedia profile. He is seeking re-election in the May 19, 2026 Republican primary.

Background

Miller was born in Wendell, Idaho, and is a lifelong resident of the Camas Prairie area. He graduated from Camas County High School and earned a B.S. in agricultural engineering from the University of Idaho (1968 to 1972). He operates Wolf Springs Ranch and family lands in Camas and Blaine counties — an organic hay and grain operation with cow-calf cattle — and was previously involved in Camas Grain organic products, as documented on his Idaho GOP candidate biography. He has been a Camas Conservation District supervisor since 1978, served as president of the Idaho Association of Conservation Districts, and as secretary-treasurer of the National Association of Conservation Districts. He has also held local roles on Camas County Planning & Zoning, Economic Development, and as a county commissioner. He has three adult children — Nancy (a Navy physician in San Diego), James (who manages farm operations and serves in the Idaho National Guard), and Andrew (a structural engineer in Boise) — and was previously married to Linda Coates from 1969 until her death in 2012; he married Cheryl Sandy in 2015.

Political Career

Miller was first elected to the Idaho House in 2012 (District 26A), re-elected in 2014 and 2016, lost the 2018 general election, and returned via the 2022 election to the newly drawn District 24B. He was re-elected in 2024 and currently serves as Vice Chair of House Appropriations with additional assignments on Agricultural Affairs and Resources & Conservation. He has sponsored or co-sponsored numerous appropriation bills for state agencies including Health & Welfare, Idaho State Police, the Department of Environmental Quality, the Department of Agriculture, and the Idaho State Historical Society. On Feb. 2, 2024, he was among 12 JFAC members who voted against all 14 maintenance budgets that day, as reported by the Idaho Capital Sun. During a 2026 JFAC discussion of K-12 budgeting, he drew rebuttal from Senate Minority Leader Melissa Wintrow over comments on high-needs special education in which he said students with no prospect of self-care "need to be in facilities that have the professional capability of taking care of them," as reported by Idaho EdNews.

Policy Positions

Miller's stated priorities are "common sense solutions" built on "faith, freedom and family," supporting low taxes, minimum regulation, and limited government within a free-market framework. On education, he supports integration of K-12 public schools, charter schools, private schools, home schools, and pods, with Career Technical Education and the Idaho Launch workforce program; he has called community colleges "the best dollars we spend on education." On water, he advocates aquifer recharge as the long-term solution against drought and curtailment. On natural resources, he supports expanding the Good Neighbor Policy with the U.S. Forest Service for timber harvest and streamlining mining permits under federal FAST-41. On energy, he is a strong nuclear advocate: "I have long supported nuclear power... Idaho has enough thorium to power the US for 100 years!" He has also supported sound-money legislation establishing gold and silver as legal tender, as documented on his campaign site. On agriculture and labor, he has voted against a Texas-style immigration bill and noted his own H-2A guest-worker experience: "I operate a farm/ranch and have 2 (I hope) H2A workers. I advertise their job position every year and have never had a call from a US citizen about the job."

Political Alignment

Miller presents as a traditional, agriculture-focused Idaho Republican grounded in rural-economy priorities and budget-committee work. His endorsements include the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry, the Idaho Farm Bureau, and the Twin Falls County Republican Central Committee.

Campaign and Endorsements

Miller is running for re-election in a three-way May 19, 2026 Republican primary against William Mostoller and Chance Requa. Documented endorsements include the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry, the Idaho Farm Bureau, and the Twin Falls County Republican Central Committee. His campaign contributions include the Idaho Dairy Industry PAC, per Idaho Capital Sun fundraising coverage. The primary winner faces Democrat Isaac B. Moffett in the November 3, 2026 general election.