We're continuing our conversations with the candidates running for office in Idaho this November. We spoke with Lori Hickman, who is in the race for attorney general.
Democrat Lori Hickman is challenging incumbent Republican Raúl Labrador and she's making the case that the attorney general's office needs to focus less on politics and more on providing sound legal advice to the state.
Hickman is a Boise attorney who has worked in both private practice and the corporate world, including at Micron Technology. She's never run for public office before, but her campaign has attracted some notable Republican support, including endorsements from two former Idaho attorneys general.
We've also reached out to Attorney General Raúl Labrador's office with requests for an interview, but haven't received a response.
Lori Hickman joined Idaho Matters to talk about why she's running and what she would do differently.
In order to focus our interviews of statewide candidates, click here to see the rules that guided our outreach efforts. To see the full interviews for those who responded, click here.
Read a transcript of the entire conversation below:
Gemma Gaudette: From the studios of Boise State Public Radio News. I'm Gemma Gaudette, you're listening to Idaho Matters. We're continuing our conversations with candidates who are running for office here in Idaho come November. And today we're talking about the race for Attorney general. Democrat Lori Hickman is challenging Republican incumbent Raúl Labrador, and she is making the case that the attorney general's office needs to focus less on politics and more on providing sound legal advice to our state. Now, Hickman, she is a Boise attorney who has worked in both private practice and the corporate world, including at Micron Technology. She's never run for public office, but her campaign has attracted some notable Republican support, including endorsements from two former Idaho attorney generals. We do want to note that we have reached out to Attorney General Raúl Labrador's office to join us for a conversation, and we have not heard back from them. However, Lorie Hickman is joining us now to talk more about her campaign. Lori, welcome to the program.
Lori Hickman: Thank you for having me. I'm really happy to be here.
Gemma Gaudette: So as I mentioned, you have spent much of your career practicing law, not politics. So what happened that made you decide that this was the moment that you were going to run for attorney general?
Lori Hickman: Um, for the last five years, I've always been an engaged, active citizen interested in politics. But the last five years I served as board chair for a grassroots organization called Mormon Women for Ethical Government. And it really stands for empowering, educating women to peacefully, proactively advocate for ethical government, the rule of law, um, upholding our democratic principles. And so being in that board chair role, I was really inspired by all the great women around this nation doing that good hard work. And last year, our group was asked to join the lawsuit that was challenging House Bill 93 that was passed into law regarding the parental choice tax credit in Idaho. So I had a seat at the table as board chair. Living in Boise as an attorney, and I was with other concerned citizens, that challenge went up to the Idaho Supreme Court, and it was not successful in terms of challenging the constitutionality of that law. But the Supreme Court did reinforce that Idaho does have a constitutional obligation to fully fund and provide for public schools here in Idaho. So after that challenge, some of those, um, fellow challengers and people asked me to consider running for office. Um, they knew that Raúl Labrador was up for reelection and it just sort of aligned and became this fast and furious decision. There was this opportunity. I had this background in wanting to stand for ethical government. And I really think the rule of law is, um, being undermined or challenged or eroded in many ways, just not just in Idaho, but in our nation. So I decided to take the leap.
Gemma Gaudette: So one of the interesting things about your campaign is that you were previously a registered Republican. You're now running as a Democrat. Why did you make that decision? I mean, how would you describe your political philosophy today?
Lori Hickman: Um, I would say today I would say that I am right down the middle. I'm a moderate, um, more independent voter. And, um, I have voted Democratic in the past. I have voted for Republican candidates in the past. My Republican Party affiliation in Idaho, um, was aligned or was registered in that party because of our closed primary system. Um, and not being able to vote in Republican primary elections unless you're a registered Republican, being in a supermajority state, I would like my vote to be valued and to vote for the candidates that I think I would like to see on the ticket as a Republican. So that being said, when I was deciding to, um, run up against Raúl Labrador, if I remained a Republican, I would not have had the time, money and infrastructure in place to challenge him in the primary election. So that left two options, independent or Democrat. And I could not. I also didn't have enough time to gather the thousand signatures, uh, to get verified by the Secretary of State to qualify as an independent. So I'm now registered as a Democrat and running in this race. But my political philosophy is, particularly for this race, I wish it were nonpartisan. I wish it was down on the ballot with the judges of who would be the best attorney for this job and not have it be party affiliated. Um, that would be my wish. So that's how I got where I'm at.
Gemma Gaudette: So with that said, as I mentioned, you have picked up some pretty significant Republican endorsements, including former Attorney General Lawrence Wasden and Jim Jones. What do you think their support says about this race and the direction of the AG's office. And we should note, I mean, a former attorney general, Wasden was the longest serving attorney general in the state of Idaho.
Lori Hickman: Yes he was. I am deeply honored by both of their endorsements, including the dozens of deputy attorneys general who also endorsed my campaign a few weeks ago. And last week, some other notable Republicans who have served in the legislature or in various, um, public capacities here in Idaho, got behind my campaign. And what it says is this message loud and clear that I have been saying from day one that this office should not be distracted, focused, or driven by personal politics or partizan agenda. If you are the chief legal officer for the state of Idaho, you are upholding the rule of law. And as Lawrence Wasden always said, you call balls and strikes. That's what lawyers do. The facts come in. Issues come in. State agencies need representation. The state of Idaho needs to determine whether it's going to join a lawsuit or have to defend a lawsuit. And it is based on the law and not politics. So having all these Republicans get behind me shows that it does not matter what your party affiliation is in this office, you give the same independent professional judgment and legal advice to a Democrat or Republican and independent whoever is asking. That's the job of attorney general.
Gemma Gaudette: And, you know, you've. Your campaign has been critical of Raúl Labrador, arguing that he's just brought way too much politics into this office. You know, and as you just described. Right. Maybe this position should be nonpartisan. It is still Partizan. With that said, though, he would say, I would think that he's doing exactly what voters elected him to do aggressively defending Idaho's laws. Where do you think that he has crossed the line between doing his job and playing politics?
Lori Hickman: Um, in some instances, um, one that stands out quite starkly for a lot of Idahoans is coming out and saying that a middle school teacher's poster that says everyone is welcome here with some hands raised with different skin colors was a political statement, and it violated the law. That was an extreme interpretation, and it seemed to be a culture war issue that is wholly unnecessary and really crossed that line of taking a law and interpreting it to an extreme. And it just, um, interferes with public teachers doing their very best to welcome all students in their classroom and provide the education that most Idahoans get in the public schools. Um, another example would be our, um, our abortion laws are some of the strictest in the nation. And they came about as a trigger. Um, it was a trigger ban. So when Dobbs, uh, overturned Roe versus Wade, the law went into effect. And even as strict as they are. Mr. Labrador took an interpretation of that law early on, and determined that physicians who referred their patients out of state for medically necessary emergency situation abortions out of state because they're not allowed in Idaho, they could be criminally prosecuted for providing that referral. That decision, um, or his opinion and determination that that's the way our law should be interpreted, failed at the federal district level at the ninth Circuit District level and, uh, ended up settling last year, um, agreeing that that was an unconstitutional interpretation. It violated the physicians First Amendment rights of free speech that cost Idahoans $400,000 in attorneys fees that were awarded against the attorney general's office. Instances like that are the extreme, um, interpretations or ways of operating that office that I don't think belong for the attorney general for Idaho.
Gemma Gaudette: You know, one of the important roles that the attorney general has is advising lawmakers before legislation becomes law. And you have said that that relationship really needs to be repaired. I'm curious about what you would do differently to make sure that legislators are getting sound legal advice, even when it's advice. You know, maybe they might not want to hear.
Lori Hickman: Correct. The attorney general's job is to provide that advice. And it is not just a good operating relationship between the attorney general and the legislature. It's a statutory requirement. Mr. Labrador is not abiding by that statutory requirement. He believes that he can give oral advice to, I guess, political allies or friends in the legislature, like, oh, I wouldn't run that bill through. That's going to be a problem. That isn't the way the statute says. It says if any legislator comes to the attorney general, and there is a bill being debated. It's been drafted that the Attorney General provides sound legal advice. This is the way that Bill is drafted. It looks like there's a constitutional defect here. It might run into a challenge. Um, here they could revise it. They could retract the bill and, um, come back with a whole different version, whatever they need to do. But having that written advice on the front end for the legislature isn't just a statutory requirement. It absolutely helps the legislature function better and then save so much unnecessary legal challenges on the back end. If these bills are sailing through and not getting that advice. So if I were elected and I was in that office, I would immediately, on day one, make sure that the legislature knows I don't care which legislator is coming to me, what party they are, if they're drafting the bill, if they have concerns about the bill, I would provide that written, um, advice for our legislature as they, you know, decide what laws they're going to enact on behalf of the state of Idaho.
Gemma Gaudette: So you're very well aware that Idaho has not elected a Democrat to statewide office in more than two decades. And you are running against a well-known Republican incumbent. What are you hearing from voters that makes you believe you have a good chance in this race?
Lori Hickman: I have traveled all over the state of Idaho and have heard that something's got to change. People are exhausted by the partisanship and amplifying this, um, supermajority or taking these extreme interpretations. And in particular, for the Attorney General's race, I am hearing from independents and Republicans who may be voting for plenty of other Republican candidates. But when it comes to the attorney general's office, they are much more interested in the good old days, like when Lawrence Wasden was there for 20 years, or if it was Larry Echohawk or Jim Jones, just Republicans, Democrat AGS that just did the good, hard legal work of providing independent professional judgment. So the distraction and the influence of politics in this particular office has turned off a lot of voters here in Idaho.
Gemma Gaudette: How important is it to you for voters to understand, um, the true role of the attorney General's office? And what I mean by that is, and I think you put it very well with what Lawrence Wasden always said in his 20 years in office, was that you call balls and strikes. Doesn't matter what your political affiliation is. I mean, you have to have a political affiliation to, to run for this office. Correct. But a lot of times people don't understand the law. They don't understand that it sometimes is truly black and white. How important is it, in your opinion, to, to make sure that voters understand that?
Lori Hickman: That has been part of my campaign message from day one is not just saying what I want to do as attorney general and what my priorities are, but trying to educate and explain to voters how important it is that this office stay keeps politics at the door and that it focuses on the law. Now, you said the law is mostly black and white. Sometimes it's not. Sometimes there are gray areas. That's when, um, your legal expertise, your advice, you're looking at existing case law precedent. What does federal law say? Whatever it is the Constitution. But focusing in that manner and not having, um, a concern or thinking about, um, a political advantage, is this going to score well with, um, a section of Idaho voters that isn't the way that you operate as an attorney. If you hire an estate attorney to help you find out what happened to grandma's will and what happens to her estate, you don't go into that attorney and say, now, are you progressive or conservative? Are you Republican or a Democrat? You're just wanting to hire the best lawyer that's going to know all they know about estates and wills for Idaho and give you the best advice possible. And that's what's, um, I'm trying to educate voters about the attorney General's office, providing that independence and professional judgment as I go around Idaho and campaign for this office.
Gemma Gaudette: And very quickly, before I let you go, for someone who's listening, who may not fully understand what the attorney General's office actually does, um, why should they care about who holds this office?
Lori Hickman: That is such a good question to end on. Um, because it is about protecting consumers. So all Idahoans, um, there's a really important division in the office that protects consumers against fraud and abuse. There's an Internet Crimes Against Children task force to go after those really bad online predators preying on our children and giving this, um, representation to our state agencies, and those agencies go from the Tax Commission to the Land Board to the State Board of Education. So all Idahoans have an interest or a fall out effect of those agencies, and they need to be operating well within the bounds of the law and receiving the best legal advice possible. That's what the Attorney General does. It also would determine whether we do join a lawsuit or defend a lawsuit if there is federal overreach or interference. What happens to our public lands? All of those issues somehow intersect with the attorney general's office and I think, affect Idahoans in many ways that they don't even realize.
Gemma Gaudette: Well, I want to thank you so much. Really appreciated your time today.
Lori Hickman: Oh thank you.
Gemma Gaudette: We've been speaking with Lori Hickman. She is the Democratic candidate for Idaho Attorney general. She is challenging Republican incumbent Raúl Labrador in the November 3rd election. And as I mentioned at the top of the interview, we have reached out to the AG's office inviting Raúl Labrador on the program. We have not received an answer at this point.
