After more than two decades on the Boise school board, Nancy Gregory is turning her attention to the Statehouse.
Gregory, a Democrat, is running for the Idaho Senate in District 15. With just two candidates in the race so far, Gregory is lined up to face incumbent Sen. Codi Galloway, a Republican, next year in one of the state’s most competitive swing districts.
West Boise voters are looking for a different voice, Gregory said Thursday, especially after the Legislature passed House Bill 93, a controversial tax credit that subsidizes private school tuition.
“I thought, ‘OK, I could do this,’” she told Idaho Education News.
Gregory said she won’t seek another term on the Boise school board when her term expires in September. By then, she will have served as a trustee for 24 years, including a term as board chairwoman. She’s also a past president of the Idaho School Boards Association.
Less than a week into her campaign, Gregory is trumpeting education issues, from unfunded teacher salary mandates to public schools’ reliance on supplemental levies.
“Public schools are working very hard to do a good job for their communities,” Gregory said. “The Legislature seems to be more intent on making that more difficult than more reliable and steady and supported.”
Galloway confirmed to EdNews Thursday that she’s running for a second term in the Senate. She previously served one term in the House, from 2020-2022.
A vocal supporter of private school choice, Galloway voted in favor of HB 93. She has described herself as a “Reagan Republican” committed to tax relief.
Galloway didn’t comment Thursday on Gregory challenging her seat but said she’s prepared to run on education.
“I am a former public school teacher, I’m a mother of four, I owned a career-technical education school,” she said. “Education is definitely in my wheelhouse.”
So far, no other candidates have filed campaign disclosures for the District 15 Senate race ahead of the May primary election, but there’s still plenty of time. The candidate filing period is Feb. 23-27.
In 2024, it was one of the spendiest legislative contests. Gallaway defeated former Sen. Rick Just, a Democrat, in a rematch from two years earlier.
