Laurie Lickley, a former two-term House representative from Jerome who lost a 2022 bid for the Idaho Senate in District 26, will try again next year.

Lickley went public with her 2024 candidacy in an email announcement, touting “deep” Idaho roots and pledging to use “problem solving, collaboration, cooperation, listening, and learning” to work for the state’s future. The Republican’s announcement included a photo of her on horseback, reins in her hands, and the words, “Together we can make Idaho stronger.”

District 26 Sen. Ron Taylor of Hailey, one of just two Democratic lawmakers in the four districts that comprise the Magic Valley, has yet to announce his 2024 intentions. He narrowly beat Lickley in the last election cycle, 52% to 48%. The difference was 513 votes, from about 15,700 total, in a district that covers Blaine, Jerome and Lincoln counties.

A moderate Republican, Lickley campaigned in 2022 without backing from the state party.

“I do not back down from adversity and I thrive on diversity,” Lickley said in her announcement. “I will never be an expert in all areas, but I thrive to seek out those that are and make certain that they have a seat in the conversation. Regardless of whether it’s popular or not, I will stand up and represent you.”

From a century ranching family in Jerome, Lickley and her husband, Bill, work an integrated ranching operation, where she said they have “survived the cyclical nature of commodity prices, life and death, sometimes within seconds of each other, and Mother Nature’s vicious hardships.”

Lickley first won election in 2018, beating two challengers in the Republican primary for District 25 House and winning uncontested in November. She earned reelection two years later in another uncontested race.

Lickley won the 2022 Republican primary for District 26 Senate, garnering 63% of the vote, before losing to Taylor.

Since January, Lickley has served on the Times-News Editorial Board, one of just two in the state that includes community representation. She will step down from the board, and the board will move to find another representative from Jerome County.

(source)