A veteran Idaho political observer sizes up the independent challenge — and likes what he sees.
An opinion column in the Idaho State Journal makes the case that Todd Achilles’ independent Senate campaign is building real momentum across the Gem State — and that the incumbent’s decades-long habit of avoiding open town halls has left an opening a mile wide.
The columnist walks through Achilles’ credentials: a Gulf War tank commander in his prime at 58, a public policy professor at Boise State and the College of Idaho, and a former legislator who impressed colleagues on both sides of the aisle. Crucially, the column also connects the dots that national media are just starting to see — that Achilles is running alongside fellow independent veterans Seth Bodnar in Montana, Brian Bengs in South Dakota, and Dan Osborn in Nebraska, and that together they could be a force that must be reckoned with.
An independent as a swing vote in a narrowly divided Senate wouldn’t just represent Idaho. It would make Idaho the most powerful state in the chamber. That argument is landing in local op-ed pages now, and it’s only getting stronger. (Note: this piece is an opinion column, and it reflects the author’s views — which happen to be excellent.)
Read the full Idaho State Journal column.
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