Court sides with Idaho GOP against Bingham County Republicans
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BLACKFOOT — Idaho Republican Party Chairwoman Dorothy Moon was within her rights to nullify a Bingham County election last year, a judge has ruled.
On Friday, District Court Judge Darren Simpson ruled in favor of the Idaho Republican Party in a lawsuit brought by the Bingham County Republican Central Committee, claiming Moon inappropriately used her power and authority to negate an internal election.
Moon and the Idaho Republican Party asserted the election was illegal, and the state chairwoman said the election should be nullified and held again.
As a result, Bingham County Republicans filed for and were granted a temporary restraining order and an injunction against state GOP leadership in September 2023. The restraining order stopped any special meetings to hold new elections. The court upheld it on Oct. 10, 2023.
The Bingham County GOP, represented by Greg Chaney, and the Idaho GOP, represented by Bryan Smith, have both said throughout the case that the other side hasn’t followed party rules.
“The state party rules and the law say the meeting must be conducted and called by someone other than the county chairman,” Smith said in the September hearing. “Dan Cravens was in charge of this meeting, and he’s resigned.”
A meeting to fill a vacancy in the office of county chair must be called and conducted by the vice chair, the state party says, and the Bingham County party “acted inappropriately” by electing a string of new officers before Cravens’ resignation officially took effect on Aug. 1.
“We don’t want an outgoing chairman to pick his successor,” Smith said in court. “That’s just not a fair process.”
The BCRCC argued that the party rules specify only that a new election must occur within 30 days of the vacancy and doesn’t specify the election should be after the vacancy takes effect.
Chaney said it’s common practice for organizations to choose new officers ahead of the effective date for a resignation.
“If the state party wants to say this is not OK, they need to be express about it,” he said.
The BCRCC wanted the court to validate its July 2023 election and declare that the Idaho Republican Party (and, by extension, Chairwoman Dorothy Moon) had no authority to void the election. Additionally, the Bingham County group wanted the Idaho GOP to reveal who filed the initial complaint against them. Finally, the BCRCC claimed breach of contract and breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing damages.
In response, the IRP generally denied the BCRCC’s claims, saying the Bingham County group didn’t have any relevant facts to support its arguments. The state group also argued that the BCRCC breached its contract with the Republican Party by failing to follow Idaho law, the Idaho Republican Party rules and BCRCC’s own bylaws.
Moon vindicated
Under state law, Moon had the right to hold an election to fill the vacant BCRCC chairmanship position, according to Simpson.
“Given the BCRCC’s failure to comply with IRP rules and BCRCC bylaws in holding the July 20 election, Mr. Thompson’s election on July 20 was void,” Simpson stated. “Mr. Thompson did not take the actions necessary to assure that the BCRCC chairmanship position was filled within 30 days of Chairman Cravens’ effective resignation on Aug. 1, 2023.”
Simpson also ruled in IRP’s favor regarding Moon’s authority to void the election.
“The state chairman has the authority to declare that county organization’s actions void for failure to comply with IRP Rules or the organization’s bylaws,” he stated.
The BCRCC’s claim of breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing will be addressed in a future hearing.
“The latest summary judgement to keep the case moving forward … demonstrates that Dorothy Moon and the Idaho GOP acted in bad faith in its dealings with the BCRCC,” Ben Fuhriman of the BCRCC told EastIdahoNews.com. “The court ruled against the Idaho GOP and in favor of the BCRCC that there was sufficient legal justification to advance that claim to trial.”