Vol. 42, No. 07
07/01/2026
God, Family, Country | Idaho State Senator Learns the Bitter Cost of Defending Freedom
“I believe we have just experienced the Gem State heist,” Glenneda Zuiderveld told The New American. Idaho’s two-term incumbent state senator from District 24 lost her May 19 Republican primary bid in a race with earmarks of Thomas Massie’s federal rout in Kentucky the same day.
Her defeat was one of five incumbent losses among members of an unofficial group called the Gang of Eight, Idaho lawmakers known for their strong conservative stances.
Zuiderveld told The New American that her opponent, Brent Reinke, had the backing of Idaho Republican Governor Brad Little, who himself garnered a resounding endorsement for reelection from U.S. President Donald Trump on Truth Social. Prior to his gubernatorial career, Little spent nearly two decades in leadership with the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry (IACI), the most influential corporate lobbying group in the state, which gave its full backing to Reinke. According to Zuiderveld, the IACI is a “dark money” operation that exchanges votes for protection. “When IACI endorses a candidate, that endorsement is not symbolic,” she wrote on her blog. “It is a transaction.” She noted IACI endorsements for four other Gang of Eight opponents.
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