R-Star Rep. Mike Moyle was elected Speaker of the Idaho House in a closed ballot held Wednesday night by House Republicans.
Moyle, R-Star will take over the top House leadership position held for the past decade by R-Oakley Lt. Gov. Scott Bedke.
Moyle is the longest serving member of the Idaho House of Representatives, serving 12 terms over 24 years. Moyle recently served as the House Majority Leader.
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All members of the Idaho House of Representatives voted unanimously to approve Moyle as the next Speaker during the organizing meeting of the Idaho Legislature. Moyle won’t be the only new leadership role in the 2023 session. Thanks to a kind of domino effect that began with Bedke vacating the House Speaker post to run for lieutenant governor, House Republicans elected an all-new leadership his team Wednesday night.
According to a press release issued Wednesday night by House Republican leaders, the new leadership team is:
- House Majority Leader: Rep. Megan Blanksma, R-Hammett.
- Vice President of the House: Rep. Sage Dixon, R-Pondeley.
- House Majority Speaker: Rep. Dustin Manwaring, R-Pocatello.
Leadership elections are held every two years in December between the general election in November and the new parliament starting in January.
Leadership positions are important because of the influence and responsibility that position carries. The Speaker is the highest ranking leader and serves as Speaker of the Idaho House of Representatives. On the other hand, the leader of the majority is the leader of the floor, who brings the bill to the floor to encourage votes.
Other leadership positions determined for the Idaho Legislature
Early Thursday morning at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise, Idaho, the Idaho Senate formally voted to re-elect Senate Speaker Pro Tem Chuck Winder (R-Boise) to the position of Supreme Leader of the Idaho Senate. . Her Senator Lori Den Hartog of R-Meridian challenged her Winder for the position of top her leader in the Idaho Senate, but was unsuccessful. There are no other leadership changes in the Idaho Senate, Senate Majority Leader Kelly Anson (R-Burley), Senate Majority Leader Abby Lee (R-Fruitland), and Senate Majority Caucus Speaker Mark. All Harris (R-Soda Springs) were re-elected. – was elected to the post of leader on Thursday.
The Acting Speaker of the Senate is in the governor’s line of succession, and the Acting Speaker of the Senate automatically becomes the acting lieutenant governor whenever a lieutenant governor takes over the office of governor.
Democrat in the Idaho House of Representatives and the Idaho Senate Their Leadership Election TuesdayIn the Democratic leadership election, House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel (D-Boise) retained her leadership position, while Senator Melissa Wintrow, also D-Boise, was elected Senate Minority Leader.
The organizing meeting of the Idaho Legislature continues Thursday and possibly Friday at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise. One of the other highlights of this week’s organizational session is filling in the quotas for committee chairs. Following a historic replacement in the Idaho legislatureAll lawmakers will also be sworn in on Thursday.
The 2023 legislative session begins on January 9, with Gov. Brad Little’s state address highlighting the first day of the session.