A political newcomer ousted the Republican incumbent in the May primary and now faces a former Democratic legislator who wants to retake his old seat.

Republican Jennifer Miles, a social worker and small business owner, is running against Democrat Nate Roberts, a union electrician, in November in the race for District 29 House Seat B in Pocatello.

Roberts was elected to the seat in 2022, marking the sixth consecutive term for Democrats. But Rep. Tanya Burgoyne, R-Pocatello, defeated Roberts in 2024.

Burgoyne, however, lost her May primary to Miles. Now, Pocatello voters will decide if a Democrat or a Republican best represents their interests.

Roberts said the district isn’t red or blue, but purple. 

“Voters here in Pocatello tend to choose the individual that they think best represents them, and I keep trying to convince them that I’m that guy,” Roberts said.

Miles, a moderate Republican, said the district is pink.

“I can get in there and work alongside other reasonable Republicans and hopefully come up with some good solutions,” Miles said.

Roberts said he wants to bring his working class perspective back to the Legislature, while Miles said her experience as a social worker helps her understand community issues.

As teachers unions around the state grapple with a new bill that limits union activities in schools, Roberts and Miles have different opinions on Idaho’s right-to-work law, which prohibits employers from requiring workers to join a union.

Here’s a closer look at both candidates.

Roberts was disappointed and surprised when the Legislature passed — and Gov. Brad Little signed — a bill that places limits on teachers union activities this year.

On the final day of the legislative session, lawmakers used a tactic known as “radiator capping” to pass House Bill 516 hours before the session ended. Legislators replaced one bill with another, bypassing the normal legislative process.

“It kind of felt like dirty politics,” Roberts said.

The bill makes it harder for union representatives to do their job, he said, and goes right along with Idaho’s right-to-work law, which prohibits employers from requiring workers to join a union.

“It’s just striking at the heart of the functional side of union representatives being able to represent their members,” he said.

As a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Roberts said unions are a basic level of democracy that allow employees to level the playing field with their employers. It’s like a pyramid, he said, with union members at the bottom.

“That pyramid needs to be turned upside down for a change,” he said.

He got involved in politics in 2018, when he helped elect his “union brother” Chris Abernathy to the Legislature. When Abernathy lost re-election in 2020 to Rep. Dustin Manwaring, R-Pocatello, Roberts said he felt community pressure to run himself.

He won the 2022 general election by just 112 votes, a 0.8% margin.

In his two years in Boise, Roberts said he is most proud of his work protecting Medicaid expansion, blocking a bill that would have repealed it, and passing the Idaho Launch grant program, which squeaked through the House on a 36-34 vote in 2023.

But after serving one term, Roberts lost the 2024 election to Burgoyne by a 5.2% margin.

“I haven’t given up on the idea that we can make positive change through policy in our state, so I put my name on the ballot again,” Roberts said.

He wants to return to protect working people and fight upcoming changes to Medicaid expansion, including work requirements and managed care organizations.

“I believe our community deserves better than what our state government has been providing,” he said.

He strongly supports the Idaho Launch grant program for graduating high school seniors. He said he was amazed when he visited the Pocatello-Chubbuck School District’s career and technical education center, with 20 pathways, including nursing, graphic design and natural resource management.

“Kids see opportunities in school like that, which provides them the chance to take advantage of that Launch program and continue that education,” he said.

His apprenticeship helped him make a living wage, travel the West and work on high-paying jobs. He said Launch could help Idaho students do the same.

Voters in Pocatello, he said, tend to choose the best candidate, regardless of party. He wants to convince them that he’s that guy.

“I bring a working man’s, you know, paycheck earner’s attitude to (the Statehouse), and some people like it, some people don’t,” Roberts said. “That’s politics.”

Miles describes herself as a reasonable, moderate Republican. She said that’s the best fit in a swing district that leans to the right.

She can get straight to work on meaningful legislation with other reasonable Republicans.

“When you’re a Democrat, that’s very hard to do because they’re the minority,” Miles said.

Throughout her career in social work, Miles has worked with adult patients experiencing mental health and substance abuse issues. She was the clinical director of an agency for eight years and owns two assisted living centers for severely mentally ill adults in Pocatello and Blackfoot.

“When you’re in the type of work I’m in, you’re on the ground,” Miles said. “You see what’s going on in the community that others don’t see.”

She said her work has a public safety component. Social workers can help take care of crises and avoid 911 calls while reducing recidivism.

She ran in part because she saw legislators talk about overcrowded jails and prisons while also cutting funding for reentry programs that help folks get back on their feet after being incarcerated.

Miles said she believes in hard work, not entitlements, but sometimes it takes a minute to get people there.

“At the end of the day, if you can help one person, you are helping their family and, therefore, the community,” she said.

On education issues, Miles said she supports all forms of education, but she doesn’t like the lack of safeguards and accountability in the $50 million Parental Choice Tax Credit.

“I don’t support the way that bill is,” Miles said. “I’m not going to fight on the parental tax credit. Like, that’s not anything in my radar. But I will not vote to expand it until there is accountability and there’s measurable evidence.”

Miles also said she doesn’t support HB 516, the bill passed this year that places limits on teachers union activities. She said she supports teachers and doesn’t have an issue with unions, but she doesn’t think taxpayer funds should cover payroll deductions.

“I’m a right-to-work individual myself, and that’s what I’m for,” Miles said. “But if someone else chooses to be in a teachers’ union or any other union, that’s their choice.”

Miles said she has no interest in getting into social issues, like the slew of bills the Legislature passed in recent years targeting the LGBTQ community. She said she doesn’t feel like going back in time is beneficial.

Like Roberts, Miles said she supports Idaho Launch. She said the grants provide an investment into the youth and can help communities.

“Hopefully they stay here and use what they got from (Idaho State University) to put back into the community,” she said.

If elected, Miles said she wants to address the main concerns of Idahoans: affordability, healthcare, education and property taxes. 

“I work hard, and I’m willing to listen and hopefully find reasonable, responsible solutions because I believe government should be responsible,” she said.