Who’s running for Canyon County’s Legislative District 12? Hear from the candidates

Republican voters in Nampa’s Legislative District 12 will have to choose between incumbent legislators and their challengers in contested House and Senate races in this month’s primary.

District 12 covers a large swath of Nampa south of Interstate 84, and it’s home to some of the Legislature’s more conservative Republican members. In the upcoming May 21 GOP primary, incumbents face challenges from equally — if not more — right-leaning candidates. Only one Republican will face a Democrat in the general election this November, making the primary the deciding race for two of the district’s three seats.

The race for the district’s Senate seat will have two experienced politicians face off. Incumbent Ben Adams, a military retiree who works in construction, is running against longtime Nampa City Council Member Victor Rodriguez, who has served on the council since 2017.

Adams served in the House from 2020 to 2022 and is finishing his first Senate term. He sponsored a bill this year to make synonymous the legal definitions of “gender” and “sex,” as well as one prohibiting the use of public funds for gender transition procedures. Both became law.

As a City Council member, Rodriguez has voted in favor of increasing development impact fees to reduce residents’ tax burdens and supported designating Nampa a Second Amendment sanctuary city.

For the House position A seat, incumbent Jeff Cornilles, who works in financial services, faces retired Navy Chief Petty Officer Jarome Bell. Bell previously ran for office in Virginia and moved to Idaho to coach football at Parma High School.

Cornilles, who is finishing his first term in the House, along with Adams, cosponsored a bill this session that sought to make the death penalty a possible punishment for lewd conduct with a minor. Cornilles was also a cosponsor of the bill to ban use of public funds for gender transition procedures.

Bell has called himself an “America First” candidate and drawn criticism in the past over statements that people convicted of voter fraud should be executed.

The House position B seat will appear on voters’ ballots as a contested race, but challenger Jay Noller told the Idaho Statesman in an email that he dropped out of the race because of plans to move out of the district. Idaho Secretary of State spokesperson Chelsea Carattini told the Statesman Noller did not withdraw from the race before the withdrawal deadline, so his name will still appear on ballots. He was running against incumbent Rep. Jaron Crane, who co-owns a home alarm company with his brother, longtime Rep. Brent Crane.

Crane is finishing his first term in the House, where he cosponsored a bill that allows parents to sue libraries over materials deemed “obscene” or “harmful” to minors.

The Republican primary is closed, meaning only registered Republicans can participate. The Democrat primary is open to all voters, though voters can only participate in one primary.

Crane will face Democrat Don Benson, a real estate agent, in the general election. Benson is running unopposed in the primary.

The Statesman sent voter guide questionnaires to each of the candidates in contested races. Their responses are below. Cornilles and Crane did not respond.

Learn more about these races and other local elections at the Statesman’s Voter Guide. (Find the legislative district you live in here, and find your polling place here.)

Read all of the candidates’ responses below. Use the horizontal scroll bar underneath each candidate to read the full Q&A. You also can click on the chart and drag horizontally.