Idaho Dispatch’s Coverage of the 2022 Elections

The 2022 May primary election is a year away.

Candidates for statewide elected office are announcing their candidacies. Over the next nine months, candidates for state legislature and other elected offices will file to run as well.

Idaho Dispatch wants to let our readers know what we will do for the 2022 elections to keep you informed about who is running and where they stand on issues.

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First and most importantly, the Idaho Dispatch does NOT endorse candidates for elected office.

While nearly every media outlet in Idaho is going to endorse candidates, we do not believe it is the media’s job to endorse candidates. The media’s job is to be a watchdog on elected officials, not an entity that helps them get elected. Idaho Dispatch believes that the media endorsing candidates undermines the goal of a news outlet which should be an unbiased approach to news coverage.

With that in mind, the 2020 general election was our first election as a news organization. We did everything we could to interview candidates in person or survey them for responses.

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Idaho Dispatch does not just cover the main two political parties that are running in a campaign either. For instance, when Libertarian Party candidate Jo Jorgensen came to Idaho, we live-streamed one of her events and interviewed her.

Whether a candidate “has a chance” of winning or not is not relevant to Idaho Dispatch. For the longest time, media outlets routinely ignore candidates they do not like or that they do not think can win. Idaho Dispatch believes that is a disservice to voters as voters should be aware of every candidate seeking to represent them in office.

Therefore, Idaho Dispatch attempts to cover every candidate that has filed paperwork, has a website, and is actively campaigning.

Sometimes candidates file to run for office but do not set up websites, social media sites, or post any contact information. Because our time is limited, we try to focus on candidates who are actively campaigning to represent you.

Again, if you see information about one candidate running for office that we post information about, such as a survey or interview, remember that it does not mean that Idaho Dispatch endorses the candidate.

As candidates file to run for office, we will reach out to them and do our best to interview them about the issues they may face as an elected official.

Feel free to contact Idaho Dispatch any time to ask us about a particular candidate if you see that we have not yet reported on their candidacy or if we have not yet interviewed them, send us an email to info@idahodispatch.com