31
party insiders put this candidate on the Rigged Red Card
Documented Record
Ran the committee that endorsed him 26-6
May 2023 - April 2026
- As BCRCC chairman, oversaw the committee vote endorsing himself 26-6 in its official voter guide.
- Endorsements were locked up months before candidate filing opened.
- Sheriff Daryl Wheeler challenged the process at a meeting and was shouted down.
- The guide graded incumbents on a questionnaire they say they never received.
- The guide went to every household in Bonner and Boundary counties at BCRCC expense.
- He led a no-confidence vote against a fellow Republican for not voting with the Idaho Freedom Foundation.
Sources (3)
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I voted against the fox in the henhouse
Bonner County Daily Bee · April 2026 (archive)
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Behind the scenes of the Bonner County Republican Central Committee
Sandpoint Reader · April 2026 (archive)
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Dist. 1 Sen. Scott Herndon continues with dirty tricks as BCRCC chairman
Sandpoint Reader · May 2023 (archive)
Used the committee against sitting commissioners
December 2024 - August 2025
- Led a 19-5 BCRCC vote declaring Commissioner Steve Bradshaw's seat vacant over Bradshaw's objection.
- The resolution called for Bradshaw to be prosecuted over his salary.
- Gov. Brad Little declined to act on the committee's vacancy declaration.
- A fellow committeeman called it "a very broad overreach."
- Led a 26-8 vote censuring two commissioners.
- Commissioner Williams accused him by name of writing a false narrative in the censure resolution.
- He said the censured commissioners had "no right" to defend themselves before the committee.
Sources (2)
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County commissioners censured, conflicting opinions
Bonner County Daily Bee · August 2025 (archive)
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BCRCC votes to replace Bradshaw on commission
Bonner County Daily Bee · December 2024 (archive)
Gun lawsuit against Sandpoint cost taxpayers $300K
2020 - 2024
- Sued Sandpoint in 2020 to carry a gun into the annual Festival.
- Courts rejected the suit at a cost of $300,000 to taxpayers.
- In 2024 he introduced a bill to override the ruling.
- The bill threatened the Festival and its $4M annual economic impact.
Source (1)
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The phony conservatism of Scott Herndon
Sandpoint Reader · April 2026
Graphic signs at a middle school; no-exceptions abortion push
2022 - 2026
- His group placed graphic fetal imagery signs at a middle school entrance.
- The former principal spent hours fielding calls from distressed parents of 12- and 13-year-olds.
- He called the disruption "necessary."
- He pushed to remove rape and incest exceptions from Idaho's abortion ban.
- The legislature rejected that position as too extreme.
Sources (2)
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I dealt with the aftermath
Bonner County Daily Bee · April 2026 (archive)
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Herndon's extreme views don't belong in Idaho
Bonner County Daily Bee · November 2022 (archive)
Armed revolution remark; shot a neighbor's dog
2012 · January 2023
- Said on a livestream that if government ignores the people, "we would" respond as Americans did to taxation without representation.
- In 2012 he shot a neighbor's dog in the back as it ran away from him.
- Sheriff's records show the dog was 80 feet from his chickens and had not touched any of them.
Source (1)
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Can't get a hearing on your voucher bill? Herndon's answer is armed revolution
Idaho Statesman · January 2023
Videos targeting Democrats during a police investigation
July 2024
- As a sitting senator, posted videos theorizing without evidence about links between an arson suspect and Democratic candidates.
- The videos disclosed a Democratic candidate's home address.
- The Bonner County Democratic Party condemned them as misinformation politicizing an active investigation.
- He said he "would not be surprised if someone listening to the Democratic rhetoric was inspired to violence."
Source (1)
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Videos draw condemnation, criticism
Bonner County Daily Bee · July 2024 (archive)
Sanctioned by his own Senate leadership
November 2023
- Senate President Pro Tem Chuck Winder formally sanctioned him for writings attacking fellow senators.
- He accepted endorsement from a PAC documented fabricating AI images of Republican legislators, including a manufactured Playboy cover.
Source (1)
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Scott Herndon - Former Idaho Senator, 2026 D1 Returning Candidate
Idaho Extremism · November 2023 (archive)
Out-of-state money and an $80K attack-ad firm
2022 - 2026
- The PAC backing him gets 99%+ of its money from a national PAC fueled by Pennsylvania gambling money.
- His campaign paid $80,000+ to a firm with Proud Boys ties for attack ads against a fellow Republican.
- He took $10,000 in federal CARES Act money while urging supporters not to take federal money.
Sources (2)
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Idaho PAC funded by out-of-state gambling money targeting Idaho legislative races
Political Potatoes · April 2026 (archive)
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Herndon took $10,000 in CARES Act money while urging supporters not to take federal money
hypocriteherndon.com · citizen-compiled public record documentation (archive)
Far-right network and the West Bonner superintendent
2022 - 2023
- Documented as part of a network with ties to white supremacist and Christian nationalist groups.
- He personally drove a controversial superintendent candidate to his hiring meeting.
- He spent party funds fighting the recall of the board members who hired him.
- Voters recalled them anyway, and the superintendent resigned.
Sources (2)
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Hate makes a comeback in Idaho, this time with political support
Idaho Capital Sun · August 2022 (archive)
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Extreme right-wing radicals tend to stick together
Bonner County Daily Bee · September 2023 (archive)
Senate record and the 2026 rematch
2023 - 2026
- IFF score: 96.2%. He wants to abolish property taxes entirely amid a projected $44.1M state deficit.
- Idaho Children Are Primary scores him 36% on its Kids Matter Index. Incumbent Woodward scores 86%.
- He voted against the Idaho State Police budget bill.
- He voted to restrict the ballot initiative process after 60% of voters approved Medicaid expansion.
Sources (2)
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District 1: 'Mainstream' senator, conservative former lawmaker gear up for fourth matchup
Idaho Education News · April 2026
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Why did your Republican representative vote to defund the police?
Coeur d'Alene Press · January 2024