“The Cost of Standing Firm”

“When Principle Comes at a Price”

Before deciding to run for the Senate, Tom and I did not make that decision lightly. We spent an entire year weighing what it could cost us. We talked about the impact on our marriage, our family, our friendships and even the possibility of losing our business. I remember reading what our Founding Fathers gave up, and why they ended the Declaration of Independence with the words, “we pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.” That is what it took to secure our liberties and freedoms, and it is what it will take to keep them.

Today, we know what it feels like to lose our fortune. I have taken an oath to uphold the Constitution and to stand on the principles so many of you elected me to defend choosing what is right over what is easy.

One of the top issues I hear about constantly is illegal immigration. Representative Dale Hawkins and I worked on a resolution together in 2024 that ultimately became a competing resolution to Senator Guthrie’s. Ours was stronger in its language, but it did not have the support of the Idaho Dairymen’s Association, Guthrie’s did. I knew that sponsoring our resolution, even though it was “just a resolution”, could come at a real cost to Tom and me if our customers, many of whom are dairymen, chose to retaliate. Our resolution did not make it through both chambers, but Senator Guthrie’s did. I was grateful at the time that we did not lose any customers.

This year, I have signed on in support of immigration bills that passed the House and are now sitting in Senator Guthrie’s drawer. You will hear some say I am ineffective, but if that were true, why did the Governor transfer money to a PAC that spent $100,000 against me in the last election? Why does the Idaho Dairymen’s Association contribute to my challenger?

I share all of this because today, before I even walked into the house, Tom was on the phone with a sick look on his face. He hung up and told me that three of our dairy customers no longer wants to do business with us because of my politics. I will be sharing the letter and additional screenshots. Tom and I will not be silent.

As William Wallace so powerfully said:

And:

What will we do? We are survivors. We will not let this stop us from fighting for our freedoms, or for the freedoms of our children. We will not bow to fear. Freedom is worth everything, either it is worth sacrificing for, or it is not freedom at all.