AG nominee aims to bring objective application of the law

Tom Arkoosh isn’t sure this year’s attorney general race will be a referendum on Idaho values, but he’s hoping that will be the case.

In order for it to be a true referendum, he said, people need to know who he is and who his opponent is. They need recognize that the two differ sharply in their political beliefs and professional experiences.

Only then can voters make an informed decision about which candidate best represents what they want for the state.

“But how many people know Tom Arkoosh’s name, as opposed to Raul Labrador’s name?” said Arkoosh, who met with the Lewiston Tribune’s editorial board during a visit to north central Idaho this week. “I’m not sure it can be a referendum unless I can get my name out there and make that distinction.”

Arkoosh grew up in Gooding on his family’s farm, and later earned a law degree from the University of Idaho. He has practiced law for more than 40 years, with broad experience in water law, administrative law and litigation.

He’s also a longtime independent, but now he’s running for attorney general on the Democratic ticket.

“I registered as a Republican in May, because of the line-up (in the attorney general’s primary),” Arkoosh said. “That was the first time I’d registered with either party. I’m fundamentally unaffiliated.”

Labrador previously served two terms in the Idaho House and four terms in Congress, representing Idaho’s 1st Congressional District. After an unsuccessful bid for governor in 2020, he handily defeated longtime Attorney General Lawrence Wasden in this year’s Republican primary.

The Idaho Democratic Party approached Arkoosh following the election and asked him to run against Labrador. He replaced Steve Scanlin on the ballot.

“I believe strongly it should be a two-party system,” he said. “I don’t think he deserves a free ride.”

Should he win in November, Arkoosh said, he plans run the attorney general’s office in a nonpartisan manner, focusing on the Idaho Constitution and state statutes. He’s concerned that Labrador would take the office in a different direction.

“The objective and consistent application of the law doesn’t have a party label,” Arkoosh said. “That’s the mission of the attorney general’s office, but my opponent sees it as a political office.”

He notes, for example, that Labrador criticized Wasden for not signing on to a Texas lawsuit regarding the 2020 presidential election results.

Wasden said the case would undermine state sovereignty by allowing outside entities to interfere in Idaho’s election procedures. He was one of only a handful of Republican attorneys general nationwide who balked at joining the lawsuit.

The U.S. Supreme Court subsequently tossed the case, saying Texas lacked standing to challenge election results in other states.

Labrador also indicated he would be a “friend” to the more conservative members of the Idaho Legislature, saying he would be more “aggressive” in defending their proposals.

“I think there’s a clear distinction between this fellow and me,” Arkoosh said. “I don’t think the culture wars have any place in the attorney general’s office.”

Nevertheless, while he thinks the attorney general should be laser-focused on state laws and the Idaho Constitution, he also noted that conflicts can arise.

For example, the U.S. Department of Justice recently sued Idaho to block implementation of the state’s abortion ban, saying it endangers women and threatens medical professionals with criminal prosecution.

Arkoosh subsequently issued a statement saying there’s “no valid legal defense” for the state’s position, and that as attorney general he would not defend Idaho in court.

As an attorney, he said, he took an oath not to pursue frivolous lawsuits. And in his view, the state’s position in the case is so legally tenuous that defending it would be frivolous. What he would do instead is hire a contract attorney to defend the state.

“In that situation there’s a tension between the attorney general’s actions in the state’s defense, and your oath as an individual lawyer not to do frivolous stuff,” Arkoosh said.

Although there’s some evidence of a growing disconnect nationally between far-right Republicans and voters as a whole, he isn’t sure if that’s the case in Idaho.

“It depends on whether you believe the AG’s office is just a law office and that we’re bound by the rule of law,” Arkoosh said. “Or is it a political office where the AG has a right to pursue his own views in place of what the statutes say, and the office becomes a policy center and war room for the cultural wars.”

The Nov. 8 election results could help clarify where Idaho voters stand on that — if Arkoosh is successful in getting his name out and letting them know where he stands.

Spence may be contacted at bspence@lmtribune.com or (208) 791-9168.