As part of our coverage of the 2018 election, we’re bringing you conversations with each of the candidates running for governor who face a primary challenge.
James Dawson spoke with Lisa Marie, an entrepreneur and children’s rights activist from Boise about her latest run for political office.
Marie unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for both of Idaho's Congressional Districts. She garnered 27 percent of the vote in 2016 against incumbent Mike Simpson and 7.2 percent in 2014 against fellow gubernatorial challenger, Raul Labrador.
She also says she’s running for President of the United States in 2020.
On addressing the estimated 62,000 people who earn too little to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to get a health insurance subsidy:
Marie says she favors getting government out of the business of healthcare and shifting the responsibility of extending access to health insurance to private companies and nonprofit organizations.
“The only way that we’re going to get out of this is the private sector has to step up and help these people change their financial status.”
How she would bolster Idaho's low high school graduation rates and prepare students for in-demand, high-skill jobs:
Marie says the school system needs to better foster creative thinkers.
“These young people in school are criticized and many of them end up committing suicide because they don’t have the support they need. So what I see is our school system doing is taking those that are leaders and actually imploding them.”
“We are run by the elite and the elite don’t want our children to be president, they don’t want them to be governors, they don’t want them to be senators and congressman.”
How she would balance preserving Idaho's proud western heritage while also embracing its identity as the fastest-growing state in the country:
“There are laws that have to be changed, there are laws that have to be added and the fact of the matter is this world is run by the children and they don’t have a voice because they are not looking at taking on these elected positions. So we’re dealing with the same people and the same criminals and the same people that have greed that take our lands and end up controlling them for money, rather than controlling these lands to make sure that we’re doing the right, clean thing.”
Copyright 2018 Boise State Public Radio