Idaho’s Lyle Johnstone Isn’t Making Any New Friends

Some people in politics have what are called high negatives.  It was said that both major party candidates in the 2016 Presidential Election met the description.  Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump both had a devoted base, but also people who would do anything to derail their campaigns.  When faced with people who are turned off, perhaps you should work to ensure the negative doesn’t grow.

She Was Told to Go Take a Hike

A friend in Lemhi County dropped me a line this week.  She had seen a Facebook post about public lands from a candidate running for a seat in the Idaho House of Representatives.  Lyle Johnstone is the Republican nominee in District 26B, which covers Jerome, Lincoln, and Blaine Counties.  She posted a question for the candidate, and as she told me, he deleted it.  Then she asked another question, and he replied that she didn’t live in his district.  I'm not sure about the order of the questions, but she did send a screenshot.

Like, You Need to Be Abrasive?

I would say his response is fair enough.  She lives in another part of the state, but he wouldn’t turn down a campaign contribution from outside the district.  And if she has family or friends living in one of the three counties he’s looking to represent, they may determine that he’s arrogant.  As I understand it, any Republican in District 26 needs to broaden their base.  Blaine County Democrats turn out by a margin of two to one over Jerome County Republicans.  Two of the district’s three legislative seats are currently held by Democrats.  From what I can see, a candidate needs to rely on every last Republican in the district, and if a lot of them don’t like the choice, they’ll stay home on Election Day.

If Lyle wins, which is a big if, then he would be serving in a chamber with 69 colleagues who represent all of Idaho.  Some people need a personality transplant.