A brief history of The Idaho 97 Project
The Idaho 97 Project launched in December 2020 with a tweet mocking the so-called "three percenters" who made a lot of hay in the early days of the pandemic dressing up like GI Joes and picketing outside of Idaho health districts.
"Ok, fine," we said. Your 3% theory is fine and all (in fact, we might just borrow it 😉), but the rest of us, the 97% are tired of all the bullshit.
We grew quickly, as we gave Idahoans a way to push back against the far-right shenanigans. We gave people the courage to demand sensible public health solutions. We designed safe and strong protests. We gave people voice, at a very scary time.
First Idaho 97 sign protest to support the workers and experts at Southwest District Health.
Throughout 2021 and 2022, we were active in Idaho politics, publishing voter guides that highlighted extremist candidates, sending dozens of petitions and emails to lawmakers, and forcing Idahoans to address the growing threats of white nationalism, Christian nationalism, and other forms of far-right extremism. See below for a few highlights!
From 2023-2025 we pulled back our public presence and worked on local projects, but now that Idaho-style extremism is running rampant across our country, infecting DC and even popping up on other continents, again... we're back.
Highlights
01 Engaged more than 10,000 Idahoans to sign petitions, write to elected officials, vote in local and state elections, and stay informed on ways to defeat extremism in Idaho
02 Contacted over 40k voters before the May '22 Primary urging them to engage in the fight against extremism at the ballot box
03 Defended public schools and higher education from years-long extremist campaigns to defund education in Idaho
04 Defended libraries and librarians from far-right attacks on first amendment rights in Idaho
05 Issued the most comprehensive voter guide in the state, exposing extremism and threats to voter access which resulted in a key win in the Secretary of State race
06 Successfully supported broad coalition efforts to defeat the 2022 anti-trans bill in the Idaho legislature
07 Managed a coalition, including groups from across the political spectrum, to demand consequences for the doxxing of Jane Doe by Idaho legislators
08 Ignited successful campaign to stop appointment of a so-called “Constitutional Sheriff” in Ada County
09 Launched a successful new Idaho political podcast, covering extremism and its antidotes on a weekly basis
10 Raised $100,000+ from thousands of individual Idahoans