It's time we VOTE for NEW Magic Valley legislators

Magic Valley primary elections matter.

The votes cast by Magic Valley legislators at the Statehouse impact us all when it comes to water issues. It is critical that we elect leaders who understand water issues and how they impact the Magic Valley. It is critical that, when it comes time to vote, those same leaders support measures that positively impact the Magic Valley and Idaho water resources and management.

Idaho’s Primary Election is May 19. This is when our Republican candidates are picked. Often, the primary determines who will represent our valley and our values for the next two years.

Before you cast your vote, here is the truth about how some of the current Magic Valley legislators voted this session on water related issues.

Senate Bill 1269 – adds transparency to our cloud seeding program, which currently brings 600,000 acre-feet of water above Milner Dam every year. Can you imagine how much more difficult our water supply challenges would be without this added supply? Yet, here are the Magic Valley legislators who voted NO on this bill:

- Senator Glenneda Zuiderveld

- Senator Joshua Kohl

- Representative Clint Hostetler

- Representative David Leavitt

These same four have a history of voting against their own constituents’ needs.

In 2025, all four voted against House Bill 445 – the bill that budgeted more than $30 million for water projects and recharge infrastructure, which included improving and sustaining the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer. Sen. Zuiderveld, Sen. Kohl, Rep. Hostetler, and Rep. Leavitt chose to vote against this critical water funding. Fortunately, other Idaho lawmakers understood the importance of water and stepped up to pass the funding anyway. And in a striking irony, a significant share of that investment is now flowing right back into the Magic Valley, benefiting the very constituents those four legislators voted against. 

A recent bill (SB 1304) to strengthen water delivery infrastructure and reduce risk for irrigation providers was on the table — and these same four legislators voted no. Their opposition stood in the way of efforts to ensure water is delivered reliably to the farmers who depend on it.

We need leaders who support the communities they are elected to serve and make decisions based on science-backed facts.

Sen. Zuiderveld, who represents all of Twin Falls County, not only voted against cloud seeding but is also spreading doubt about the legitimacy of early quagga mussel detection in the Snake River. She has the highest position of power in Twin Falls County and is claiming the rapid response to this invasive species was done with hidden agendas and secret scheming – and not to protect the Snake River and all those who rely on it. IT WAS NOT.

These four legislators repeatedly turn their backs on our operations and our communities, voting against water and against agriculture. We cannot let this happen again.

The time to make our voices heard is May 19 at the Republican Primary Election.

Cast your vote for a new set of conservative Republican legislators who put our community first. Our Magic Valley depends on it.