BOISE, Idaho — With the retirement of Idaho Secretary of State Lawerence Denney, the state is guaranteed a brand-new Secretary of State following the 2022 November general election. Top candidates for the role include Republican Phil McGrane and Democrat Shawn Keenan.
KTVB profiled McGrane in part one of the preview series.
In part two, KTVB spoke with Democrat Shawn Keenan. The North Idaho Democrat says he is passionate about elections.
“I have been a political activist in the state of Idaho, literally since about the age of nine. I've been involved in every level of campaigning for different folks, from local level to state level to national level, and very much care about the direction that not only this state is going, but this country is going. So, I am deeply involved in that way so that I can kind of stay in tune and help wherever I can to make sure that, you know, my values and our community values are being expressed at the at the polls,” Keenan said.
So, why is Keenan running, what about that position inspires him to run?
“Over the course of the last election cycle, it seems like the secretary of state is kind of a cornerstone and kingpin to our elections as they are certified by the secretary of state's office. And so there seems to be this movement across the country where there are people who are running, who see an opportunity to seize this office and the power that this office has for nefarious purposes in our democracy,” Keenan said. “And so this was very concerning to me as I saw more and more people jumping into the secretary of state's races across the country who are election deniers, who, you know, are spreading myths and disinformation about our previous elections. And here in including in Idaho, we had two candidates running in the Republican primary who were also spreading these myths and disinformation about our last election. And so I became very passionate about speaking the truth to our elections. And that's what inspired me to run for the race.”
If elected as secretary of State, what would Keenan’s focus for the office look like?
“I think it's important to restore confidence back in our election process. I think a lot of that disinformation has sowed a lot of doubt in our in throughout the electorate. People are concerned about whether their ballots are actually going to be counted, whether they're going to be valid, who is counting them and all the process is very confusing. And I think that we have to do a really good job at the secretary of state's office to educate our electorate about what our processes are, be transparent about that, but also make sure that our elected has the proper information about voting and how that works,” Keenan said.
To learn more about Idaho candidates and measures on the ballot, check out the KTVB Voter Guide.
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