I always enjoy driving to Idaho Falls. The beautiful landscape and wide-open skies fill me with optimism. Last week, the drive was even more special, and my reasons to be hopeful for a better future became clearer during dinner with an established and rising force in politics: Miranda Marquit. She is running again!
“In 2020 I ran for office in District 33 against Barbara Ehardt and outraised her almost 2-to-1,” Miranda writes. “During my campaign, I built a strong coalition of bi-partisan support which allowed me to run the most competitive race this district has seen in years. While I learned about the importance of money and messaging (I had help from moderate Republicans), I also learned that money and messaging aren’t everything. We must also reach out to NEW voters and encourage those who feel marginalized by the process to become involved. We must be welcoming to new voices and the voices of the disenfranchised.”
A financial wellness expert with an MBA, Miranda served as Bonneville County chair from 2016 to 2019.
“During this time, I oversaw the expansion of membership and participation on the county central committee and raised our profile in the community, and helped improve our financial situation as a county party,” she said. “ In this capacity, I learned about the importance of encouraging leadership and participation without a focus on pay-to-play. While I was chair, we allocated funds specifically so that our delegate without means could travel to the DNC, as well as provided help for their participation in other development efforts. From speaking with those who wished to be more involved, but couldn’t be, I learned that we often place barriers to participation.”
She wrote about this in a column, and you can read it here.
Because of her experience within the IDP, Miranda has a strong understanding and historical knowledge of the challenges we face on the ground as Democrats. Because she serves in the community, participates on nonprofit boards with missions like education, affordable housing, and food insecurity, and engages in ground-level activism, Miranda hears what people say about the IDP, and their criticisms of party responsiveness to their needs.
“I would like to see us make positive change,” she said. “And that requires a push to reach out, listen, and elevate voices we don’t often hear. It also means changing the way we “do business” in a lot of ways, asking hard questions, and looking for unconventional answers. I’m ready to do that and hope we can do it together.”
Learn more about Miranda in these bullet points she provided:
Grew up in Idaho, attended Republican Women with my grandmother
College experience includes:
Comms with Poli-sci
MA Journalism
MBA
Legislative district chair in Cache County Utah
Came back to Idaho, seen the party from the ground up, as a Precinct Captain, Chair, State Committeewoman and Candidate
Successful business owner for almost 20 years
Proud of raising a great son, who’s attending college locally
Ready to fight for REAL Idaho values like education, affordable housing, and access to economic freedom
Please spread the word that all area constituents should get to the polls and vote for Miranda Marquit!