Republican Women in Idaho

The Idaho Federation of Republican Women (IFRW) affiliated with the NFRW in 1944 and has two districts and 14 clubs.

Prompted by the Republican National Committee, clubs began to form in the early 1900s. RNC Chairman Mark Hanna asked Mrs. J. Ellen Foster, the first woman to practice law before the U.S. Supreme Court, to visit the Western part of the country to talk to women about getting involved in Republican politics. Dr. Minnie Howard of Pocatello accompanied her. In August 1904, they called a meeting of Republican women of Idaho and elected officers, and formed the first club of women voters in the state.

Members who have held elective office include the Hon. Helen Chenoweth, the Hon. Pattie Anne Lodge, the Hon. Janet Miller*, the Hon. Kathie Garrett*, the Hon. Dolores Crow, the Hon. Shawn Keough, the Hon. Kathy Skippen, the Hon. Sheila Sorensen*, the Hon. Debbie Field*, the Hon. Julie Ellsworth*, the Hon. Frances Field, the Hon. Sharon Block, the Hon. Maxine Bell, the Hon. Eulalie Langford, the Hon. Janice McGeachin, the Hon. JoAn Wood, the Hon. Lenore Barrett, and the Hon. Ann Rydalch.

* Denotes Ada Country Republican Women's Club member.


Past IFRW Presidents

  • Carolyn Durant
  • Janet Miller
  • Patricia Anne Lodge
  • Renee Stucki
  • Helen Lowder
  • Pamela B. Ahrens
  • Dorothy Balch
  • Ione Stafford
  • Margaret Bunting
  • Mrs. Ruby Brown
  • Mrs. Louella Baum
  • Mrs. Edna Scott
  • Mrs. Irene Bevington
  • Mrs. Earl Wright
  • Mrs. Gertrude Detweiler
  • Mrs. Bess Myers
  • Mrs. Zola Stellman
  • Hazel Shook (founding)

Local Clubs

  • Ada County RW
  • Bannock County RW
  • Bingham County RW
  • Blaine County FRW
  • Bonner County RW
  • Bonneville County RW
  • Boundary County RW
  • Canyon County RW
  • Canyon County II RW
  • Fremont County RW
  • Gooding County RW
  • Jefferson County RW
  • Kootenai County RW
  • Madison County RW
  • Nez Perce County RW
  • Payette County RW
  • Silver Valley RW
  • Twin Falls County RW