Boise Democrat tops list of Idaho legislative candidates who have raised the most for 2026 campaign

An incumbent Boise state representative who lives in a competitive legislative district has raised the most money of any candidate for the Idaho Legislature in 2026, online state campaign finance records show. 

Rep. Steve Berch, D-Boise, has raised $212,580.79 as of Tuesday afternoon. 

Although Republicans control a supermajority in the Idaho Legislature, Berch is the only candidate in Idaho’s 105 legislative districts who has raised more than $200,000 this year. 

Berch also raised the most money heading into this year’s primary elections, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported. 

In an interview Tuesday, Berch attributed his fundraising success to engaging directly with voters and knocking on tens of thousands of doors in his legislative district.

“It’s really very gratifying, and it tells me that people like what I’m doing in terms of knocking on doors, holding in-person town hall meetings and sending out very detailed newsletters so they know the reason why I vote the way I do,” Berch said. 

Most of Berch’s campaign contributions came from people and from within Idaho. According to online state campaign finance reports, Berch raised $153,816 from people, $27,450 from companies, $9,000 from political committees and $1,000 from Democratic central committees. Berch raised $169,226 in Idaho and $22,040 from out-of-state donors, records show. The rest of Berch’s campaign money was un-itemized. 

Berch represents District 15 in west Boise, which has flipped back and forth between Democratic and Republican control since at least 2018.

Berch’s opponent in the Nov. 3 general election, Republican Steve Keyser, has reported raising $13,592.67.

District 15 is one of the rare truly split legislative districts in Idaho. For the past two years, Berch held one of the legislative seats in District 15 while Republicans held the other two. Two years before, Berch and the Democrats controlled two of the district’s seats while Republicans held just one. 

For that reason, both Republicans and Democrats will be looking to pick up a seat in District 15 in November’s general election 

What other Idaho legislative candidates are raising the most money

Among the 10 Idaho legislative candidates who raised the most campaign money in 2026, seven are Republicans and three are Democrats. 

In total, six candidates have reported raising more than $100,000 in campaign money this year. 

Although it was decided months ago, Idaho’s primary election appears to have played a big role in campaign fundraising this year. 

Two candidates from the Republican primary election for Idaho Senate District 1, Sen. Jim Woodward and former Sen. Scott Herndon, were among the top four legislative candidates in terms of campaign fundraising for 2026. Herndon won the primary in May and advanced to the Nov. 3 general election, where he is running against independent candidate Steve Johnson. 

Legislative leadership positions also may have played a role in campaign fundraising this year. 

Some of the Idaho Legislature’s top ranking members, including House Speaker Mike Moyle, R-Star; Senate President Pro Tem Kelly Anthon, R-Rupert; and Senate Minority Leader Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise, all made the top 10 list for fundraising for legislative candidates this year.