Mackenzie Davidson

Sarah Zabel, a retired U.S. Air Force Major General, is running as an independent candidate in the congressional race for Idaho’s first district. Zabel is up against Republican Rep. Russ Fulcher, who has held the seat since 2019. On Jan. 27 and 28, Zabel held a “Meet the Candidate” event at the University Inn, where Latah County residents were able to learn more about her campaign.

According to a survey of students conducted by Vandal Health, Education, Recreation and Wellbeing in 2024, 11.3% of respondents on the University of Idaho campus feel discriminated against for their political beliefs. The survey was fielded during the fall 2024 semester and coincided with the November presidential election. Over 1,000 responses were collected from UI students.

After being elected for a second term in the Idaho House of Representatives in November of 2024, Todd Achilles has stepped down in the hopes that he can unseat longtime Republican U.S. Senator Jim Risch in 2026. Achilles, a U.S. Army veteran, left the Democratic Party when he chose to run for the senate as an Independent, a decision he said he made after witnessing dysfunction in American politics. “We’ve reached a point where we are just fundamentally failing as a country now.