Election Season and what it might mean for the American Heart Associations work in Idaho

The Idaho primary election took place May 19^th, and the results were interesting. After a challenging legislative session, we saw many primary challenges that will result in new faces in the 2027 Legislature. Some of the more hardline Republicans, known as the “Gang of Eight,” lost seats to more moderate conservatives, particularly those in the Magic Valley region of the state. While in North Idaho, the far-right incumbents were able to hold on to their seats.

We won’t know committee assignments until December, after the November general election, during the Legislative organizing session. But in the meantime, we will continue our work with our friends in the legislature around Cardiac Emergency Response Plans and Telecommunicator CPR, both key priorities on our 2027 Legislative agenda.

We are also working with partners and the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare to implement parts of HR1, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” which passed and was signed by the President in July of 2025. Between HR1 and legislation passed at the state level there are now different requirements and limitations on Medicaid expansion. We are working to ensure administrative and paperwork challenges don’t remove eligible participants or lead to application challenges that cause delays in enrollment.

We are in unpredictable and challenging times, however, we continue to build partnerships with organizations and legislators to ensure we are positioned to move our policy agenda forward in 2027.