Nine members of the Idaho legislature’s most extreme conservative bloc — known as the “Gang of Eight” — were voted out in the May 2026 Republican primary, defeated not by Democrats but by fellow Republicans who decided they had gone too far.
Who Is the Gang of Eight?
The Gang of Eight built their reputation on scorched-earth conservatism: grinding state budget negotiations to a halt, pushing immigration enforcement measures that alarmed Idaho’s own agricultural industry, and championing hard-line social legislation that even the state GOP’s leadership couldn’t fully support. In one of the reddest states in the country, they positioned themselves as the only true conservatives in the room — and voters in their own districts finally disagreed.
The bloc had become synonymous with governing dysfunction. Their willingness to hold up state funding to extract ideological concessions had frustrated their own Republican colleagues for years. Budget negotiations that should have taken days dragged on for weeks. Leadership had repeatedly struggled to manage their influence — and now, primary voters have given them new partners instead.
The Results Were Decisive
Among those defeated: state senators Glenneda Zuiderveld and Josh Kohl, and state representatives Lucas Cayler, David Leavitt, and Faye Thompson — all beaten by mainstream Republican challengers. The margins weren’t close. Zuiderveld lost 60%–40%. Kohl fell 58%–42%. Leavitt was beaten 55%–45%. These weren’t squeakers. In each race, Republican primary voters sent a clear and decisive message that the era of the Gang of Eight is over.
Agriculture Turned Against Them
The damage the bloc inflicted wasn’t limited to budget fights. Kohl, Zuiderveld, and Leavitt all represented the Magic Valley — Idaho’s agricultural heartland — and their aggressive push for immigration enforcement had put them at direct odds with the farming and ranching communities that depend on immigrant labor. Farm operations across the region rely heavily on seasonal workers, and these lawmakers were willing to blow that up in the name of ideological purity.
Agricultural and ranching organizations across Idaho had been vocal in their opposition to the immigration enforcement agenda the bloc championed. Their members vote — and in Republican primaries, rural producers carry significant weight. This wasn’t a backlash from moderates or Democrats. It was a practical revolt from the very base the Gang of Eight claimed to represent.
What This Means for Idaho — and for American Politics
Idaho is one of the reddest states in America. When hardline conservatives lose Republican primaries — by double-digit margins — in that state, it signals something important about the limits of ideological purity politics. Voters, even in deep-red territory, eventually draw a line between bold conservatism and governing dysfunction. The Gang of Eight crossed that line, and their own constituents said enough.
The results also carry a broader message for rural Republicans across the country: legislators who represent farming and ranching communities cannot afford to push policies that directly threaten those industries. When your own farmers vote you out, the message couldn’t be clearer.
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