Kootenai County GOP backs Mark Fitzpatrick in crowded governor race

Kootenai County Republicans put Mark Fitzpatrick on their recommended list for the May 19 primary, giving the Eagle saloon owner a local boost in a crowded race for governor as Brad Little sought a third term.

The endorsement mattered because Kootenai County is not a passive audience. The county committee is built from precinct committeemen elected from all 74 precincts in Kootenai County, and its vetting process includes questionnaires, interviews, forums and a background check. That structure gives the local GOP a more formal pipeline than a simple rally crowd, and it helps explain why a county nod can carry weight well beyond Coeur d’Alene.

Fitzpatrick’s campaign has been working that network hard. His website lists the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee among a string of county-level endorsements that also includes Elmore, Nez Perce, Adams, Clearwater, Shoshone, Boise, Benewah and Valley counties. In Kootenai County, that support lands inside one of North Idaho’s biggest Republican voting blocs, where party activists have long played an outsized role in state politics.

The county’s internal divide was just as revealing as the endorsement itself. A Coeur d’Alene Press opinion piece said KCRCC represents more than 74,000 Republicans, while only 29 committee members backed Fitzpatrick over Little in the recent vote. That split underscored a Republican ecosystem that is both active and contentious, with Fitzpatrick drawing a slice of the party that is looking for a harder-edged message.

Fitzpatrick has leaned into that lane. In recent forums, he said Idaho was heading toward a “socialist dumpster fire” under Little and cast his campaign as a fight to root out corruption and stand for truth. His pitch rests on faith, family, freedom and smaller government, and his campaign profile describes him as a retired police officer, husband of more than 23 years, father of six, entrepreneur, owner of Old State Saloon in Eagle and founder of American Trad Fam.

His business and the politics around it have also helped define the race. Fitzpatrick became a lightning rod after his Old State Saloon’s Hetero Awesome Fest event drew backlash last year, including criticism over a podcast segment in which a co-host made racist comments. Fitzpatrick later said the uproar prepared him and his family for a gubernatorial run.

The campaign has also been shadowed by hostility. On May 7, Fitzpatrick’s campaign sign in Eagle was vandalized with a swastika, and he told KTVB he has been called a Nazi before. In a race where Little’s backers are stressing fiscal discipline, deep Idaho roots and President Donald Trump’s endorsement, Fitzpatrick’s Kootenai County traction shows there is still a significant Republican opening for a far more combative message.