A retired history professor and the chairman of a nonprofit dedicated to restoring liberty are competing for a seat left vacant by Rep. Jack Nelsen, who did not seek re-election this year in District 26 House Seat B.

Democrat Kevin Marsh, a political newcomer who retired last year from a 30-year career in higher education, wants to bring his skills as a historian to the Statehouse. He questions the motives behind the Legislature’s cuts to colleges and universities.

“The concern to me is the broad sweep to question the value of higher education,” Marsh said in a phone interview.

Republican Lyle Johnstone, the co-founder and director of the conservative Magic Valley Liberty Alliance, believes a full review of the “government school system” is needed.

“We get a good bang for the buck, but I think we can do better,” Johnstone wrote in an email to EdNews.

This is Johnstone’s fourth run for the Statehouse. He lost Republican primaries in 2018, 2022 and 2024. This year, he was unopposed in the primary.

District 26, made up of Lincoln, Blaine and Jerome counties, is a swing district. Six years ago, Democrats controlled all three seats. Now, Sen. Ron Taylor of Hailey is the sole Democrat.

Two independent Christian conservative candidates, cousins Shaila Tate and Bella Schiffler, will compete in three-way races for the Senate and House Seat A in November. Marsh and Johnstone are the only two candidates on the ballot in House Seat B.

Marsh said no historian would ever look at one perspective and declare, “Oh, that’s what happened.”

Instead, they know how to understand and analyze multiple sources of information before coming to a decision, skills Marsh believes would come in handy as a legislator.

“It’s the process of thinking and sifting through different alternatives to come to what seems to be the best solution,” he said.

Marsh recently retired from a three-decade career as a professor of American history, with a focus on public land and water in the West. He spent most of his career at Idaho State University, with some work at the University of Idaho and Boise State University.

He now owns and works a 20-acre farm in Blaine County with his wife. They sell fruits and vegetables at the Hailey Farmers Market. Marsh said he likes contributing to the community and working outdoors.

He took a similar approach as a professor. He’s traveled around the state to give lectures on the history of Idaho water rights and the social history of sports in the Gem State.

“I wasn’t simply just teaching classes and writing books and articles for other historians,” Marsh said. “I tried to really look at the community aspect and community involvement, and I shared stories of Idaho.”

Marsh said he enjoys studying the history of where he calls home. Before taking a job at ISU in 1997, he lived in Oregon and Washington, spending his summers in the mountains working for the U.S. Forest Service.

When it comes to politics, Marsh said Idaho’s government has a tradition of leaving people alone, but that is not what the Legislature has done recently. He said bills that control which flags cities can fly or who can use which bathroom are not a good use of time or taxpayer money.

“It’s imposing its fear and distrust on even the most basic thing of how we use the bathroom,” Marsh said. “I don’t think that’s responsible government.”

When it comes to K-12 education, Marsh said he wants to create a more reliable and predictable policy framework for public schools. He said administrators and teachers are dealing with inconsistent guidelines, messages and funding from the state.

He added that the Legislature is wrong in spreading rhetoric that creates distrust and suspicion around public schools.

“I think schools are some of the most trustworthy institutions we have in our society, and they’re probably the best investment we have in terms of using public dollars,” Marsh said.

He said he state’s disproportionate cuts to higher education this year were often based on political ideology and national agendas, rather than the needs of Idaho.

Marsh cited a decades-old term for Idaho’s universities: “bootstrap universities.”

“It’s not a place of privilege,” Marsh said of higher education. “It’s a place where people go, work hard and they lift themselves up into a new set of economic and social opportunities, and it opens doors for people.”

When asked about the Magic Valley Liberty Alliance — cofounded by his opponent and Sen. Glenneda Zuiderveld, R-Twin Falls, in 2021 — Marsh said it reflects similar groups that emerged over the last 10 to 15 years that pursue a “politics of fear” in the U.S., pitting neighbor against neighbor.

He said the group faced a “very strong” backlash in the May primaries this year. Zuiderveld, along with Twin Falls Republicans Sen. Josh Kohl and Rep. David Leavitt, all lost to moderate Republicans.

“Let’s get away from the politics of fear and the politics of division, and let’s get back to the long Idaho tradition of simply solving problems and letting people get on with their lives,” Marsh said.

Johnstone describes himself as a conservative Republican who believes that the free market and limited government lead to prosperity.

He declined a phone interview, but in written responses to EdNews he said he thinks a top-to-bottom examination of the “government school system” is warranted.

“We need to ensure excellent teachers are paid well, and bureaucrats who do little but push papers are shown the door,” he wrote.

He said declining public school enrollment could be an opportunity to make some hard decisions and rethink public education so that it works for Idaho families in the future.

To improve proficiency in reading and math, Johnstone said Idaho should look to Mississippi, where students have made significant gains in recent years.

“Thousands of students cannot read, write, or do math at grade level,” Johnstone wrote. “The status quo just shovels more money into the system, hoping another buck or two will fix it. But that’s just not been the case. Idaho students and families deserve better.”

Johnstone is the co-founder and chairman of the conservative Magic Valley Liberty Alliance, or MVLA, formed in 2021. The nonprofit corporation named Nelsen the 2025 “RINO of the Year.” Johnstone said the group’s main focus is civics education.

As a nonprofit, the MVLA does not endorse or oppose legislative candidates. But the group in 2024 formed the MVLA PAC to make independent expenditures and endorse candidates. Its website has two endorsements: Johnstone and Rep. Clint Hostetler, R-Twin Falls.

“We are a group of liberty-minded individuals who challenge the destruction of our way of life by taking on liberal, corrupt politicians and organizations that defy the United States and Idaho Constitutions,” the MVLA PAC website states.

In his bio on the MVLA website, Johnstone wrote that he became “painfully aware” of the split in the Republican Party when he ran for the Legislature in 2018.

“The Party consists of two parties, the Republicans and those in name only,” Johnstone wrote on the MVLA website. “I wish to encourage, educate, and assist liberty-loving, liberty-minded people to hold local up-to-state level elected positions.”

If elected, Johnstone said he would like to put Idaho on a path to end property tax while protecting essential services. He also wants to repeal the grocery tax, protect public lands and, most importantly, maintain a small government.

“I want to keep the government limited so Idahoans can carve their own paths without interference from Boise lawmakers and bureaucrats,” he wrote.

Johnstone supports the $50 million Parental Choice Tax Credit and firmly believes that engaged families are the most important part of a good education for kids.

“It’s worth noting that the fearmongering over this program didn’t pan out,” he wrote. “While thousands of kids are getting the education that fits their needs, public schools still saw more money allocated in this year’s budget.”

Johnstone said he is running for office because too many lawmakers serve special interests and big business. Communities in the district, he wrote, deserve a lawmaker who will deliver for the district and stick to his principles.

“We can focus on the divide, or we can look at it a different way,” he wrote. “I see a district filled with people who love our state and want to make it better. Some of us just disagree on how to do that. Idaho, under Republican leadership, consistently ranks as a top state for quality of life. That’s not by accident. I want to deliver for our district to take what we have here in Idaho and make it better.”