Republican incumbent Brandon Mitchell and Democratic nominee Kathy Dawes are running for Idaho House of Representatives District 6, Seat B, on the Nov. 3 ballot. The district covers the Moscow area, including Latah and Lewis counties and part of Nez Perce County.
Mitchell, a three-term incumbent, won the May 19 Republican primary unopposed with 6,036 votes, according to certified results from the Idaho Secretary of State. Dawes won the Democratic primary with 2,394 votes, or 90.82%, defeating Kenneth Williams, who received 242 votes, or 9.18%.
The candidates previously faced each other in the 2024 general election, when Mitchell received 16,157 votes, or 58.1%, to Dawes’ 11,649 votes, or 41.9%.
Brandon Mitchell (R)
Mitchell was raised in Syracuse, Utah, and graduated from Clearfield High School in 1988. He studied criminal justice at Weber State University and later completed a business degree at Brigham Young University-Idaho.
In 2012, Mitchell purchased two retail stores, becoming a small business owner, one in Moscow and one in Pullman, Washington. He has co-owned the business with his wife since January 2013. According to his campaign website, the business has grown to six locations. Mitchell and his wife have three children and have served as certified therapeutic foster parents. Mitchell also served as a Boy Scouts of America leader from 2006 to 2018.
First elected to the Idaho House in 2020, Mitchell is seeking his fourth term. He holds several high-profile committee positions, being the vice chair of the House Transportation and Defense Committee and a member of the House Appropriations Committee.
Mitchell sponsored House Bill 621, which would have allowed concealed carry permit holders to bring firearms into public areas of county buildings while maintaining the existing ban on carrying firearms inside courtrooms. Mitchell told Boise State Public Radio that the bill would allow people to carry firearms while conducting their normal activities in county buildings. The bill passed the House but died in the Senate State Affairs Committee.
On his Idaho Republican Party candidate page, Mitchell lists property taxes, education and voting rights as his top three priorities. He supports working with local governments to provide tax relief and greater accountability, writing that “we must work collaboratively with local governments…while bringing greater accountability, transparency, and long-term tax relief to Idaho homeowners.” His support for education is geared towards “quality, free, and public education built on core subjects” as well as career and technical education programs. He also writes that parents should have a strong voice in their children’s education. Concerning voting rights, Mitchell wrote that, “every legal vote matters” and that he remains committed to election integrity.
Mitchell also describes himself as firm in his support for the pro-life position and protections under the First and Second Amendments.
Kathy Dawes (D)
Dawes and her husband moved to Moscow in 1973 to attend graduate school at the University of Idaho, where she earned a master’s degree in zoology.
After graduate school, Dawes worked as a lab technician, started a scientific illustration business and taught eighth-grade science in the Moscow School District for many years. After retiring, she began following legislative sessions closely and providing testimony.
Dawes has been heavily involved in several local organizations. She is a founding member of the Moscow Arts Commission, Moscow Community Theatre, and Palouse Discovery Science Center. As an AmeriCorps volunteer at the science center, she developed hands-on science programs for rural schools in north Idaho and eastern Washington. She and her husband continue to run programs for rural libraries in the district.
She also served 13 years on the Latah County Parks Board and is active with the Palouse Chapter of the Citizens Climate Lobby. Dawes has worked to reduce political polarization and led workshops that bring people with differing political views together to find common ground. In 2024, the Latah County Human Rights Task Force presented Dawes with its Community Award, the Rosa Parks Human Rights Achievement, citing her as “Volunteer and author of ‘New Years Challenge”
Dawes describes her campaign as an effort to empower Idaho communities to develop solutions to local problems. She believes communities need resources for schools, childcare, health care, and housing and has also emphasized reducing political polarization.
In the Idaho Capital Sun’s 2024 candidate survey, Dawes listed increasing public education funding, including funding for facilities maintenance and construction, lowering property taxes by increasing the homeowner’s exemption, and eliminating the sales tax on food as her top state budget priorities.
Dawes also opposes using public tax dollars for private education, arguing that doing so would reduce funding for public schools, particularly rural districts without private school options.
On climate and wildfires, Dawes has called for a state plan to prevent wildfire spread and incentives for forest stewardship. She pointed to a personal example of her family’s 26 acres of woodland north of Moscow, which they maintain through thinning and controlled burns.
Dawes also supports adding health exceptions to Idaho’s abortion law. She has said the current law creates risks for pregnant patients and is “among the strictest in the nation.”