Incumbent Doug Ricks running to keep his Senate seat from Democrat Marsha Craner for District 34
Published atREXBURG — The incumbent Republican Idaho District 34 senator is running to keep his seat from a Democrat challenger.
The Idaho Senate District 34 seat is a two-year term. Republican Doug Ricks is running against Democrat Marsha Craner, the chairperson for the Madison County Democrats.
To learn more about Ricks, visit his website here.
To learn more about Craner, visit her website here.
EastIdahoNews.com sent the same eight questions to each county candidate. Their responses, listed below, were required to be 250 words or less. EastIdahoNews.com is publishing the answers in their entirety, without any grammatical or style editing.
The general election is Nov. 5.
Candidate Questions & Responses
Tell us about yourself — include information about your family, career, education, volunteer work, and any prior experience in public office.
Ricks:
- Melissa and I have been married for 40 years and have raised five children and have four grandchildren.
- I was raised on a farm and attended schools in Madison school district. I earned my associates degree from Ricks College and a bachelor’s from BYU-Idaho.
- I am a prior owner of a computer store for 13 years and retired from BYU-Idaho after 21 years in Information Technology & Disability Services. Currently I invest in real estate.
- I was active in coaching girls’ and boys’ youth sports teams and working with young men in scouting and activities.
- Presently I serve as precinct committeeman, of which I have done for the past 12 yrs. Previously, I also served as chairman of the Madison County Republican Central Committee, and Region 7 Republican Chairman.
- I first ran for the Idaho House in 2016 because I didn’t think our district was being represented properly. It took me two tries to become elected.
- I served two years in the Idaho House of Representatives prior to being elected to the Idaho Senate and am currently in my fourth year as a Senator. I am a home-grown resident with great passion about Madison County. I am honored and humbled to represent the good people in this district.
- I serve on the following legislative standing committees: Local Government and Taxation, as Chairman; Judiciary and Rules; and Commerce committees.
Craner: I am an Idahoan born and raised. I grew up in the tiny, rural town of Richfield where I was valedictorian of my graduating class of 14. My parents owned a dairy farm, so I got up early to feed calves before going to school, and I had to do my chores before I could go back to practice for volleyball, basketball, or track. My girls basketball team won the State Championship in 1978.
My husband and I have lived in Madison county for over 30 years, and we have both taught in East Idaho public schools until we recently retired. Our 4 children graduated from Madison High School.
I have been the chairperson for Madison County Democrats for the last 3 years.
Why are you seeking political office? Briefly explain your political platform.
Ricks: I am a republican conservative, and I believe in the following principles:
- Faith – My faith in God guides my moral compass and helps provide focus.
- Family – Families are the nucleus of civilization and the basic social unit of society. I will continue to stand strong to support family values and its critical role in society.
- Education is a top priority of mine and focusing on what is best for students. Education should always support the needs of the students first (and parents) over what is best for adults. Idaho ranks 5th in the nation on the percentage of state general funds allocated to education. Idaho gives approximately 63%, while Utah is only around 49%. Public education funding has increased by 65% over the past 6 years and I have supported that. The majority of parents want additional education options, and I am open to exploring ways to improve learning for all public, charter and private schools.
- Taxes – keep those low and provide transparency on how dollars are spent.
- Economy – I support free markets and limited government. Government should only provide essential services and minimum regulations to provide an environment where individuals and small businesses can thrive. The “American Dream”, the opportunity to succeed and attain a better life, must be maintained. I oppose the creep of socialism into our lives.
- Free speech – government should not influence control over one’s First Amendment rights, and that includes social media.
- Second Amendment – I am a strong supporter and NRA Endorsed with an A rating.
Craner: Firstly, no one should run unopposed in any political office. That’s not democracy, and we need more balance at the State Legislature to stop extreme bills like the library law and abortion ban.
Secondly, Doug Ricks has been pushing school vouchers and tax credits for private schools. That’s not the way to fix our education problems. We need to bring back the Quality Education Act which would restore corporate taxes to 8%. That money should be used within the ppublic education system to give more choices to students.
What are the greatest challenges facing people and communities in your district? What is your plan to meet those challenges?
Ricks:
- Home values in Madison County have soared over the last few years causing homeowners to pay a higher percentage of local property taxes. To address the problem the legislature passed House Bill 292 in 2023, which redirects a percentage of the sales tax monies collected by the state, down to the counties to pay down property taxes.
- HB292 reduced property taxes for Idaho homeowners by approximately 18-percent. The average reduction in property taxes for all property taxpayers in Madison County, including commercial, was 13.9 percent. I was one of the authors of this bill and the senate sponsor.
- Idaho income taxes are higher than surrounding states. We reduced the rate from 6.95% down to a flat tax of 5.695% which is an 18% cut. As the income tax rate decreases, state revenue has increased. We plan to reduce the rate down to 5.5%.
- Traffic in Rexburg. I worked with the Idaho Transportation Department to secure funding for connecting traffic lights to be controlled by a software program that will dynamically adjust timing to improve flow. Once the City of Rexburg runs fiberoptic lines to those traffic lights, ITD will complete the project.
- Broadband Improvements. I serve as vice-chairman of the Idaho Broadband Advisory Board (IBAB). The IBAB developed a statewide plan to improve broadband access, speed, and infrastructure. The board recently awarded Madison County a $13 million broadband grant. Combine this with Rexburg’s Lightbridge fiber project, all of citizens of District 34 should realize significant improvements in internet access.
Craner: I have been listening to people in my district by knocking on doors. I hear them saying they want a more fair tax system; they want better housing choices, and they want to stop extreme bills.
The corporate tax rate change would help provide a more fair tax system; listening to local leaders, I believe we can work together to solve housing problems, and I would work to repeal extreme laws.
Have you seen any mistakes made by the Idaho Legislature in recent years? How would you work to correct these errors?
Ricks:
- Governor Little and the Legislature championed House Bill 521, making the largest-ever state investment in school facilities. The bill increases funding by a net of $1.5 billion over the next 10 years to ensure all districts have the resources to address unmet capital construction needs and improve student achievement. I was the senate sponsor of HB521. Madison School District received $23 million and Sugar-Salem District $7.3 million which will further reduce our property taxes through offset of bond & levy payments. This is a win-win bill – increase funding to education facilities while reducing property taxes.
- The legislature probably needs to adjust the funding formula for HB521 to give smaller districts a higher dollar ratio per student. One benefit of HB521 is that surplus monies go to property tax relief instead of spending on new state programs or departments.
- The school funding formula also needs to be updated on how districts receive funding. Currently it is a complex formula based on average daily attendance.
Craner: The biggest mistake the Idaho Legislature has made is trying to restrict citizens’ rights to initiatives. Citizen initiatives are the people’s voice. The Legislature should be working harder to listen to citizens, not trying to stop them from trying to be heard.
What parts of the state budget could use more funding? Are there places in the budget where cuts could be made?
Ricks:
- Grocery sales tax credit should have been increased by another $25 or more to help offset the Bidenomics inflation on groceries. It is $120 now and is refunded when you file your Idaho taxes. I have a bill draft ready to go when the legislative session starts in January. I would alternatively support a grocery sales tax exemption bill if the legislature prefers that however, it would cost Idaho over $150 million collected by out of state visitors.
- Mental health services could use more funding.
Craner: Education needs more funding. We need to provide help with housing problems.
What is your position on Idaho’s Proposition 1 ballot initiative that would end closed-party primary elections and create ranked-choice voting?
Ricks: I am against ranked-choice voting so I oppose Prop 1. Voting should be easy to do and hard to cheat. This would do the opposite by making the ballot complicated and could take several days to determine a winner. I am open to discussion on open primaries, but a hard no on ranked-choice voting.
I believe it would:
- Foster mistrust in vote counting
- It will radically change Idaho’s current trustworthy election system.
- Trying to fix a problem that does not exist in Madison County. Extreme candidates have been eliminated through the normal elections process.
- Why would we want to replace a process that is working with a complicated system that likely won’t change the results.
- Cost taxpayers more to print ballots.
- Longer ballots, you would have to vote (and rank) 4 candidates or more for each race. It will double and triple the voting time required to vote.
- Only two states use ranked-choice voting now, Alaska and Maine. Idaho should sit tight and watch what happens in other states first.
- There is very little data to draw on.
Craner: I support Proposition 1. Independent voters are currently shut out of the system. They shouldn’t be forced to pick a party to participate. I’m tired of seeing one name on the ballot. Open primaries would give more people power to participate in government. More choices would force legislators to reach put and actually campaign and listen to the people.
What is your position on Gov. Brad Little using Idaho State Police resources to bolster security at the United States southern border? How does illegal immigration impact the constituents in your district?
Ricks: I support Governor Little in sending State Police to Texas to learn how to better deal with human trafficking and deal with the drug cartels bringing in fentanyl through an open boarder. The officers learn skills then bring that knowledge back to Idaho and teach other officers.
Craner: I think the border is a National issue that should not be brought into our State politics. If we want to help, we should be throwing our support behind the bills could have solved problems instead of playing politics with the issue. I think people need to stop blaming immigrants for all our problems. We have immigrant workers who contribute mightily to our economy. We need to stop calling them criminals and give them the credit they deserve. This us vs them mentality is harming our nation and our State. I value the rich diversity that has built and continues to build our nation and our State.
A battle over the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer recharge led to a temporary water curtailment for thousands of acres of farmland in 2024. How should the legislature respond to this issue?
Ricks: The water user groups, stakeholders, have been negotiating potential changes to the current agreement which is needed. Once an agreement has be worked out, I believe the legislature will have to pass legislation to codify it. I have been keeping updated on the progress. I am not aware of any Madison County farmer that had a water call and was shut off. Most of the water calls were in other counties. I am hopeful that a reasonable agreement will be reached among water users before the legislature deals with it in January.
Craner: The measures that are being taken to recharge the aquifer are necessary measures for our long-term continuation of farming, city water, and manufacturing. We need to listen to the professionals who study our water problems. Water belongs to all of us, and cooperation is necessary if we want to avoid future problems.