BOISE, Idaho — The Ada County Republican Party has been plunged into turmoil after its entire top leadership abruptly resigned en masse late Thursday.
The mass resignations of the county chair, three vice chairs, treasurer, and state committeewoman have left the party's Ada County leadership in question.
In the group resignation letter, the departing leaders accused the Idaho Republican Party (IDGOP) state leadership of unethical behavior including bullying, intimidation, leaking of confidential documents, and actively undermining the Ada County party's effectiveness and legitimacy.
The resignations appear to be the culmination of months of escalating tensions between the Ada County party and the state party organization controlled by factions loyal to IDGOP Chair Dorothy Moon.
Examples cited in the resignation letter include the IDGOP levying $64,000 in mandatory dues on Ada County, which, the leaders say, hampered the county party's ability to support local GOP candidates. They also argue that the dues principle is inconsistent with GOP beliefs.
"Paying dues is not Republican; the vast majority of GOP county parties (estimated at 95%+) across the U.S. do NOT pay dues to their state parties. In Idaho, the dues system makes no sense - all counties are treated equally. 43% of all Democrats live in Ada County, and 14 of 18 Democrat legislators live in Ada County. Ada County is forced to pay $64,000 in "dues" when this money should be used to help Republican candidates win in a battleground county. The State Party should support battleground counties, not financially drain them," the letter said.
The state party also allegedly took punitive actions that "damaged Ada County."
Furthermore, some Ada County Republican precinct committee members were accused of betraying their own county party and aiding the IDGOP in undermining it. "Everything we have mentioned is entirely unacceptable, unethical, bullying, and often hypocritical behavior," the resignation letter stated.
Despite the chaos, the letter touted the Ada County GOP's recent track record of success under the now-resigned leadership.
"In the past three years, we raised and invested more money, $260,000 in cash, for political races than all other Idaho GOP counties combined," the letter said.
Financially, the Ada GOP letter claims State Party decisions compromise legitimate politics at the expense of party in-fighting.
"In 2023, much of the money we raised to support candidates running for city council and school board seats through our Ronald Reagan dinner had to go to State Party dues instead, and at the most critical moment when financial resources are needed. In other words, multiple key races will not get the funding for the November races. All the energy focused on destroying a highly effective Ada County party could have been used to fight liberals and Democrats across Ada County. But now, Republicans lose while Democrats win. The overall situation is no longer tenable."
The letter argued the IDGOP sees Ada County's GOP leaders in a very poor light and seeks to actively shrink, rather than grow, the party.
"It seems that certain people in the IDGOP do not like the "type of Republicans" the voters elect in Ada County," the letter said. "These elected Republicans are labeled with unflattering terms. Those doing the labeling describe themselves as "conservatives" but rarely use the word Republican."
"It is clear that many of the self-styled' State Party elites' treat other Republicans with utter disdain, and no shortage of bullying, harassment, intimidation, and retribution will be unleashed on those Republicans the State Party wants to purge," the letter said.
By gutting the Ada County party leadership, the escalating tensions have now boiled over into outright intraparty warfare, plunging Idaho's Republican ranks into continued turmoil.
So far, the IDGOP leadership has not publicly responded to the accusations of unethical conduct or the devastating mass resignations. But the open turmoil now consuming Idaho's largest county party organization reveals a Republican Party in the midst of a widening internal schism.
Of note, the letter says those who were elected as Precinct Committeemen and Committeewomen will retain their seats and continue to serve in that role.
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