Russ Spencer
Republican | Idaho
Candidate Profile
Conservative
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Russ Spencer
Party
Republican
Election Year
2026
Election
Primary
Race
State Senator, Dist. 20
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, BA - Political Science, 2000-2006
Antonin Scalia Law School at GMU, Arlington, VA, JD - Law, 2006-2009
WORK & MILITARY
United States Army - Idaho National Guard, Captain, - present
IDOPL - Health Professions Bureau, General Counsel, 2023-2026
Bonneville County Prosecutor, Deputy Prosecutor, 2019-2022
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Federal Law Clerk, 2018-2019
Office of the Idaho Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General, 2010-2018
AFFILIATIONS
J. Reuben Clark Law Society, Board Member and Past President, 2012-2026
CASA of Southwest Idaho, Board Member, 2025-2026
Federalist Society, Member, 2006-2026
National Rifle Association, Life Member, 2018-2026
Idaho Majority Club, Member, 2025-2026
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
Candidate did not provide
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
Candidate did not provide
SELECTED CONTRIBUTIONS
CONSERVATIVE
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (1)
Barbara Ehardt (2024)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (1)
Leading Idaho (2026)
OTHER INFORMATION
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not receive taxpayer funds from federal, state, or local governments (including Title X grants).
Strongly Agree
Under what circumstances should an elective abortion be allowed?
None.
Human life deserves legal protection from conception until natural death.
Strongly Agree
The lives of human embryos created through artificial methods ought to be protected from purposeful destruction.
Agree
The Comstock Act, which bans interstate transportation of abortion-inducing drugs, should be enforced.
Strongly Agree
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
What does "separation of church and state" mean to you?
The free exercise of religion, protected by both the Idaho and United States Constitutions, contains no "privately" or "in your own home" caveat. The rights protected by the First Amendment are all public rights, meant to be exercised in the public square. Policy makers and activists alike may make policy decisions guided by their sincerely held religious beliefs. But to ensure that right to everyone, state institutions must refrain from imposing religious tests on anyone.
Individuals and businesses should be required to provide services even if it would violate their moral and/or religious beliefs.
Strongly Disagree
The religious liberties of the people are sacrosanct. A society that prizes accommodation should be able to accommodate the religious beliefs of others.
NATIONAL SECURITY
The Chinese Communist Party poses serious military, cyber security, intellectual property, and global economic threats to the United States.
Strongly Agree
The primary instruments of national power are diplomacy, information, military, and economics. Only the CCP is able to compete with the United States in all four dimensions.
Is the United States' relationship with Israel important, and if so why?
Absolutely. Though the strategic partnership between the United States and Israel is not symmetrical, it is still mutually beneficial. It reinforces America’s moral values and strategic interests, and promotes peace and stability. Moreover, Israel invests in innovation, and our partnership also allows companies based in the United States to set up incubators in Israel to take advantage of important advances in technology (in fields like microchips and agriculture) and pharmaceuticals.
HEALTHCARE
What most closely matches your view on healthcare: A) Healthcare for all should be guaranteed and funded by the government with no private healthcare option. (includes "universal healthcare," "medicare for all," etc.) B) Healthcare insurance funded by the government should be available for all who want it, along with private healthcare options. C) Medicaid and Medicare should remain available, but no other taxpayer-funded programs are necessary. D) Taxpayer funded health care should be abolished in all forms, and Medicaid and Medicare should be defunded.
(C). Medicaid and Medicare should remain available, but no other taxpayer-funded programs are necessary.
The government should keep a database of people with various ongoing medical illnesses to assess the economic burden of treatment.
Disagree
The government can keep data on the prevalence of ongoing medical illnesses without attaching that data to individual persons.
ECONOMY
What is your position on the minimum wage?
Strong economies create a greater need for labor, which leads to higher wages. Mandating higher wages without strengthening the economy results in low-skill laborers being shut out from the labor market. The true minimum wage is always "unemployed."
Free enterprise and the right to private property are essential elements of a productive economic system.
Strongly Agree
List your top 3-5 priorities to eliminate government waste.
First, regulations should be regularly reviewed and revised, and where they impede innovation or fail to protect the public, eliminated. Second, social programs should be reviewed for redundancies and duplications. Where more than one program seeks to address the same ill, the less effective should be subsumed into the other, or the two programs merged. Third, agencies should perform careful internal audits and submit zero-based budgets on a regular multi-year schedule.
IMMIGRATION
I support the existence of sanctuary cities to protect undocumented persons.
Strongly Disagree
Under the United States Constitution, immigration enforcement is within the sole jurisdiction of the federal government. Municipalities and states should not impede federal law enforcement from enforcing duly enacted federal law. Defiance against federal law by sanctuary cities creates an environment of increased risk of danger to law enforcement officers, to residents, and to the undocumented persons seeking sanctuary.
EDUCATION
I support eliminating the U.S. Department of Education and giving control back to states and communities.
Agree
Parents are primarily responsible for the care and upbringing of their children, including their education. As such, I support policies that would move control over education closer to those parents.
Foreign governments should be prohibited from funding American education.
Agree
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY
What should be the goal of the criminal justice system?
The primary goal of the criminal justice system is the protection of the public. As such, we should pursue criminal justice policies that reward rehabilitation and punish recidivism.
Government has a responsibility to protect children from sexual exploitation during online activities.
Strongly Agree
Sharia law should not be accepted or incorporated in any form within the legal framework of the United States.
Agree
Article IV, section 4 of the United States Constitution guarantees to every state a republican form of government.
2ND AMENDMENT
What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?
Until we enforce the gun laws and restrictions that are already in place, no new regulations should be considered.
ABOUT YOU
When you consider your views on a wide range of issues from economic and social matters to foreign policy and religious liberty, which of the following best describes you overall?
Conservative
Have you ever been penalized for sexual misconduct in either civil or criminal court? If so, please explain.
No.
Have you ever been convicted of a felony? If so, please explain.
No.
VALUES
Government should recognize and support the fundamental right and essential duty of parents to direct their child's health and educational well-being.
Strongly Agree
Attempts to physically or socially transition a child to the opposite sex constitute child abuse.
Strongly Agree
Marriage is a God-ordained, sacred and legal union of one man and one woman. No government has the authority to alter this definition.
Strongly Agree
I support the expansion of gambling in my state.
Disagree
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
What does the Lord require of us? To do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God. I believe in a just and loving God, the Father of us all. I believe that He has a plan for us that is both merciful and just. I believe that families are not merely convenient, but are central to God’s eternal plan for His children. I believe that man must be free to choose to serve God, and that it is both our duty and our privilege to seek Him as we live in harmony with His teachings and commandments, and earnestly follow the whisperings of His Spirt to our consciences. To honor my God, I strive to be honest and upright in everything I do, and to be of service to my fellow man. And I hope in the end, I may have done some good in this world.
ELECTIONS AND VOTING
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Strongly Disagree
Election integrity is the bedrock of legitimacy for any institution that relies on democratic elections. We cannot have election integrity without the ability to identify those voting in our elections. Photo ID is what we use to identify people. But if the State mandates the use of photo ID to exercise the right to vote, I believe the State should also ensure that everyone can afford and access a voter ID.
EQUALITY
Reparations should be given to people on the basis of race.
Strongly Disagree
Biological males should not be allowed to participate in women's sports or occupy biological women's spaces whether it be bathrooms, locker rooms, sorority houses, women's shelters, or prison.
Strongly Agree
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
Man-made climate change is a global threat and requires urgent political action.
Disagree
What do you believe is the most reliable energy source that will supply the growing demand for electricity?
Nuclear energy. It is the only form of energy we currently have that is reliable, clean, and scalable.
