Carl Bjerke
Carl Bjerke (Republican Party) is a member of the Idaho State Senate, representing District 5. He assumed office on December 1, 2022. His current term ends on December 1, 2026.
Bjerke (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the Idaho State Senate to represent District 5. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.[source]
Biography
Carl Bjerke was born in Long Beach, California, and lives in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Bjerke earned an associate degree in respiratory therapy and a bachelor's degree in organizational leadership. His career experience includes working as a respiratory therapist and the deputy chief of operations of the Santa Monica Fire Department.[1][2]
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2026
See also: Idaho State Senate elections, 2026
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
General election for Idaho State Senate District 5
Incumbent Carl Bjerke is running in the general election for Idaho State Senate District 5 on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Carl Bjerke (R) | |
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 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
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2024
See also: Idaho State Senate elections, 2024
General election
General election for Idaho State Senate District 5
Incumbent Carl Bjerke defeated Adam Chapman in the general election for Idaho State Senate District 5 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Carl Bjerke (R) | 79.4 | 21,404 |
| Adam Chapman (D) | 20.6 | 5,557 | ||
| Total votes: 26,961 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Idaho State Senate District 5
Adam Chapman advanced from the Democratic primary for Idaho State Senate District 5 on May 21, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Adam Chapman | 100.0 | 583 | |
| Total votes: 583 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Idaho State Senate District 5
Incumbent Carl Bjerke defeated Cheri Zao in the Republican primary for Idaho State Senate District 5 on May 21, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Carl Bjerke | 77.5 | 5,827 |
 | Cheri Zao | 22.5 | 1,692 | |
| Total votes: 7,519 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Bjerke in this election.
2022
See also: Idaho State Senate elections, 2022
General election
General election for Idaho State Senate District 5
Carl Bjerke won election in the general election for Idaho State Senate District 5 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Carl Bjerke (R) | 100.0 | 14,586 |
| Total votes: 14,586 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Idaho State Senate District 5
Carl Bjerke defeated incumbent Peter Riggs in the Republican primary for Idaho State Senate District 5 on May 17, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Carl Bjerke | 62.1 | 5,162 |
 | Peter Riggs | 37.9 | 3,152 | |
| Total votes: 8,314 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Vicki Null-Carey (R)
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
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2024
Carl Bjerke did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Carl Bjerke completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Bjerke's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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- 1) Maintain confidence in the election process – It is disappointing to see the low numbers of voter turnout. Our republican form of government requires the people – (of the people, by the people, for the people) to participate in the system. If there is any question in our future elections that our system of voting is not secure, we can expect a greater level of apathy, with corresponding low voter turnout. The very existence of what we hold dear in our country, the right to vote and to have that vote count, is in jeopardy of being lost. For example, a study conducted by the Heritage Foundation listed Idaho as being ranked 38h in voter integrity.
- 2) A society will ultimately be the judge of how it takes care of the most vulnerable. I believe it should be a priority to move forward new and existing proposed legislation that will protect our most precious resource, the unborn and the children of Idaho. The future of this great state will lie in our desire and ability to secure the rights and freedoms of our next generation. Although some headway is being made on these fronts, we will need to work on firming up additional legislation that will protect the rights of the unborn, eliminate the indoctrination of our school children, get back to traditional Idaho values.
- 3) Deviation from the intent of our founding documents, in all its forms, has a disastrous effect on the people of Idaho. Article IV, Section 4 of the US Constitution guarantees every State in the Union a Republican form of Government, where the sovereignty of the state resides with the people. A republican form of government respects all the tenets of the rule of law which include supremacy of the law, equality before the law and the principle of liberty. What happened in the response to the COVID pandemic in Idaho was completely lawless-everything from illegally extending emergency orders and mandates, to forbidding proper governance by preventing the ability of the Legislature to convene and represent the electorate.
Other than my three key areas above, my focus will be to shore up small business - we lost about 20% of our small businesses over the pandemic. I will legislate to limit the amount of money we are taking from the federal government and to create programs that will incentivize workers to get back into the job market, including enhancing and funding STEM programs.
Taxes are another area that I would concentrate on - I would legislate to completely abolish the grocery tax and work to find equitable solutions to lower property taxes, to allow native Idahoans the opportunity to maintain home ownership, rather than being tax out of their property, with the seemingly never-ending housing inflation.
The greatest principle should represent the desire to be a true servant leader - someone getting into elected office for their own aggrandizement or ego, is doing it for the wrong reason and is not the right representative.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
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Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Idaho scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2024
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
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In 2024, the Idaho State Legislature was in session from January 8 to April 10.
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2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the Idaho State Legislature was in session from January 9 to April 6.
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See also
2026 Elections
External links
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Candidate Idaho State Senate District 5 |
Officeholder Idaho State Senate District 5 |
Personal |
Footnotes
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by David Nelson (D) |
Idaho State Senate District 5 2022-Present |
Succeeded by - |
