- State
- Idaho
- Office / race
- U.S. Senate
- Party
- Independent
- Reviewed
- October 24, 2026
Career timeline
An independent on Idaho’s Senate ballot
Todd Achilles is an independent candidate for the U.S. Senate in Idaho’s 2026 general election. The Idaho Capital Sun’s voter guide lists him alongside Republican incumbent Jim Risch, independent Natalie Fleming and Libertarian Matt Loesby. Achilles identifies affordability, political corruption and protection of public lands as priorities, presenting his campaign as an alternative to the two-party structure rather than a Democratic nomination.
Military service and education
Achilles served in the U.S. Army from 1992 to 1995. Ballotpedia’s biography lists an undergraduate degree in economics and international relations from Claremont McKenna College, graduate business and international-studies degrees from the University of Washington, and public-policy graduate study at the University of California, Berkeley. His campaign describes his military responsibilities as those of a tank commander and armor officer.
Sources: Ballotpedia: Todd Achilles biography ↗ · Achilles campaign: background ↗
A career outside elected politics
Achilles describes growing up on a family farm and later building a professional life in the technology sector. His campaign presents military teamwork and experience outside politics as preparation for public office. The background matters to the way he argues for institutional change: his appeal is built around management, economic competition and cooperation across political affiliations, rather than long service within a party organization.
Sources: Achilles campaign: background ↗
Why he left the state legislature
The Idaho Capital Sun reported in July 2025 that Achilles had resigned from the Idaho House and changed his registration to unaffiliated. He had been appointed to a vacant District 16 seat and won election in November 2024. He cited frustration with federal debt, overseas conflicts and both parties’ conduct when explaining the independent Senate bid. His previous Democratic legislative service remains part of that history.
Sources: Idaho Capital Sun: departure from the legislature ↗
The Democratic withdrawal
Democratic Senate nominee David Roth ended his campaign in July 2026 and formally submitted his ballot withdrawal in August, the Idaho Capital Sun reported. That development is essential to understanding the present race: Achilles is not the Democratic nominee, even though Democrats’ withdrawal changed the field in which he is running. His ballot identity remains independent, separate from his earlier statehouse party affiliation.
The institutional changes he proposes
Achilles’s platform calls for limits on terms in Congress and on the Supreme Court, restrictions on lawmakers trading individual stocks, and a mandatory congressional retirement age. It also opposes selling Idaho’s public lands. These are proposed reforms, not changes he has already enacted. Together they illustrate his campaign’s attempt to connect skepticism about political institutions with specific rules governing power and public resources.
Prepared with AI assistance. Source-based reporting checked on October 24, 2026. This article does not update automatically. Read our editorial standards.
