Ricks takes District 34A primary race
Published at | Updated at
REXBURG — For the second time in as many elections, Rep. Ron Nate and Doug Ricks faced off in the Republican primary for the Legislative District 34 House Seat A seat. This time, Ricks won, taking 51 percent of the vote. He received 2,994 votes to Nate’s 2,835, a victory of 159 votes.
See results for all east Idaho primary races here.
Previously, Ricks narrowly lost to Nate, the incumbent, in the 2016 primary, winning 49 percent of the vote.
Campaigning was bitter this time around, with Ricks saying he was a “more true Idaho Republican” than his opponent. He accused Nate of being beholden to the Idaho Freedom Foundation.
RELATED: Rexburg candidate says vehicle vandalized with dessert
Ricks said he believes health care is the biggest issue the Idaho Legislature is facing, especially finding a solution to fixing the Medicaid gap.
“I’m a Republican — I’m true blue — I’ve been a Republican all my life,” Ricks told EastIdahoNews.com in a previous interview. “I follow the example of my father who was a legislator for 16 years and also served as lieutenant governor for a short period of time. And also, my grandfather was a representative for the state of Idaho.”