The elections are here, and questionable candidates are on the ballot as per usual.
Ammon Bundy is a candidate running for the position of governor in Idaho. During the primaries he ran as a Republican candidate but lost to incumbent Brad Little. Following the primaries, Bundy decided to run as an independent This means his name was still on the ballot, but he didn’t have access to the resources of the Republican party.
Bundy runs behind a very basic viewpoint. He believes that the government should have very little impact on what the average person does from day to day. This viewpoint can either be extremely dangerous or helpful depending on how the person goes about following through on their ideas.
Bundy has his main campaign promises outlined on his website, votebundy.com, some of which contradict each other. Bundy’s promise to allow bodily autonomy and health freedom is contradicted only a few points down the list where he talks about outlawing abortions no matter what the reason.
However, past his views, Bundy’s actions show what makes him a dangerous choice for governor of Idaho.
He has been involved in multiple armed standoffs in separate states before coming to Idaho.
The earliest incident according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, when Bundy’s father refused to pay taxes that allowed his cattle to feed off of federal land in Bunkerville, Nevada so the Bureau of Land Management closed off roughly 140,000 acres to capture the trespassing cattle.
After the BLM corralled the offending cattle, Bundy and his supporters went to confront the agents and get the cattle back. This event concluded with Bundy and his supporters showing up, brandishing weapons and scaring off the BLM agents. After BLM returned the cattle, Bundy made more demands such as disarming local national parks and demolition of the fee gates at parks as well.
After the standoff in Bunkerville and the support that Bundy gained, he went on to attempt a similar show of power again in Oregon. A timeline made by The Oregonian shows what led up to and transpired during the occupation. This time, Bundy went further and led an armed occupation of a wildlife preserve because a pair of farmers in Oregon got arrested for arson on federal land.
When Bundy moved to Idaho he didn’t stop with these occupations and decided to increase his activity even more. This time, according to the Idaho Capital Sun, Bundy occupied a major hospital in downtown Boise because a family had their child taken by the hospital due to malnutrition and signs of abuse.
Bundy and his supporters occupied the emergency wing of the hospital crippling the ability for them to take in patients from ambulances for an hour.
In August 2020, Bundy trespassed in the Idaho State Capitol Building and has since been charged.
According to KTVB during his campaign in 2021, Bundy also illegally reserved a gazebo in a Boise park through one of his supporters. This reservation was for a small private party, but actually turned out to be for a large public gathering for Bundy’s political rally. The reservation was cancelled by the mayor of Boise who released a statement about the cancellation.
Most recently there have been signs popping up in southern Idaho that have a QR code and text reading “Don’t vote.” The QR code goes through a few prompts that then lead to Bundy’s campaign website.
These signs violate campaign rules because they don’t include the name or position of for the candidate. Currently there hasn’t been any proof if these signs are being put up by Bundy or not, so there is currently no lawsuit.
This laundry list of activities paint Bundy as unpredictable and aggressive. The choices to lead protests that led to a hospital’s lockdown and brandish weapons at BLM workers do not show the markings of a civilized political leader. A symptom of Idaho’s politics, his views are dangerous and can be considered criminal. Remember to do your civic duty and vote in the upcoming election Nov. 8.
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GARY H HAGLAND
The Southern Poverty Law Center you reference as one of your sources is as extreme on the left as you accuse Bundy of being on the right.
Debbie Donovan
Well said! Voting is more important today than any other time! Our democracy is at stake!