What the teachers’ union doesn’t want you to know about their 2026 strategy. A message from the Gang of 8
From Christy Zito’s Substack, May 16, 2025
The Idaho Education Association (IEA) has launched a campaign to reclaim power, not in classrooms, but in the Capitol.
They’re calling it May Matters, a statewide effort to oust conservative lawmakers in the 2026 Republican primaries. The plan? Flood key races with union-friendly Democrats and independents who re-register as Republicans, then back candidates who will carry the union’s agenda under a red banner.
It’s not subtle, and it’s not new. But this time, the IEA is going all in, organizing voter drives, mobilizing members, and pouring resources into an all-out political offensive. And they’re doing it while claiming Idaho’s public education system is somehow being dismantled.
Let’s get the facts straight
Since 2016, Idaho’s public school budget has grown from $1.81 billion to $3.29 billion—a more than 80% increase in less than a decade. Public education now accounts for 31.7% of the entire state budget, second only to health and human services at 39.3%.
Idaho has fully funded its K–12 system, and then some.
So what exactly is the IEA so upset about?
Simple, control. And they’re not acting alone.
The IEA isn’t just a local teachers’ group, it’s the Idaho branch of the National Education Association (NEA), the largest teachers’ union in the country and one of the most powerful political machines on the American Left. The NEA has formally endorsed every Democratic presidential candidate since Jimmy Carter and pours over 95% of its political spending into Democrat campaigns and progressive causes. Its leadership has declared that the classroom is a political battleground and proudly trains teachers to be activists. Read more.