Laura Bellegante

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Laura Bellegante

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Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 3, 2020

Personal

Birthplace

Rexburg, Idaho

Religion

Non-Denominational

Profession

Supervisor

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Personal Facebook

Laura Bellegante (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Idaho State Senate to represent District 23. She lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Bellegante completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Laura Bellegante was born in Rexburg, Idaho. She earned a master's degree from the University of Idaho and Colorado State University in 1993. Bellegante's career experience includes working as a benefits supervisor with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, as a mental health volunteer services coordinator with State Hospital North, and as an off-campus coordinator with Colorado Northwestern Community College.

Elections

2020

See also: Idaho State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for Idaho State Senate District 23

Christy Zito defeated Laura Bellegante in the general election for Idaho State Senate District 23 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Christy Zito (R)	76.3	13,282
	Submit photo	Laura Bellegante (D)	23.7	4,130

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 17,412
= 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 23

Laura Bellegante advanced from the Democratic primary for Idaho State Senate District 23 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Laura Bellegante	100.0	1,009

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,009
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Idaho State Senate District 23

Christy Zito defeated Brenda Richards in the Republican primary for Idaho State Senate District 23 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Christy Zito	56.5	3,855
	Submit photo	Brenda Richards	43.5	2,969

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 6,824
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Laura Bellegante completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Bellegante's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

As a farm raised native Idahoan, I have a lifetime of experience in public service, agriculture, and volunteer work. After receiving a BS degree in sociology and MEd. degree in adult education, I worked in mental health, child protection, welfare reform, and as a field office supervisor in Mountain Home, Idaho. I taught adult education for BSU and was off-campus program administrator for Colorado NW Community College. My public service included School Board Trustee andLibrary Board Trustee. Volunteer work in 4-H and Healing Hearts Quilters expanded my knowledge and compassion for agriculture, ranching, and the needs of others.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Education is key to a strong society and is a responsibility of the state.
• Affordable and accessible health care.
• A living wage and tax equity go hand in hand to strengthen and recover the economy.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

State policies should meet the needs of the taxpaying constituents. Core state responsibilities include education, infrastructure, and community support.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Abraham Lincoln because of his statesmanship in difficult times. Also his kindness with everyone was critical to his success.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

One of my favorite short and easily-read books is E. L. Doctorow's Welcome To Hard Times. It is exemplary of what happens when good people do nothing.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Ethics, Integrity and keeping one's word are the basic trust issues. In order to serve effectively, a legislator must listen carefully and act judiciously in collaboration with peers. Keeping legislation current and effective is a housekeeping task that must be addressed.

Core responsibilities are the primary job, and social biases cannot be the basis for legislation.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I have experience and patience with public service and I am a good synthesizer of information. I have imagination in finding workable solutions. and a fairly broad knowledge of resources that might be included in implementation.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

The Core responsibilities of a legislator are to stay focused on the core needs of the state: A strong economy, a thorough and free public education, available health care, and living wages require careful and fair legislation.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I would like to bring balance and collaboration to the work of the legislature to assure most productive and lasting outcomes. I would like to help make the image of Idaho as beautiful as our natural environment.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

At age 7 listened to the presidential election for Eisenhower.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Green Canyon Hot Springs, Clementsville, ID 3 summers I worked there in the concession stand.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Carl Sandburg's history of Lincoln

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

From "Steel Magnolias", the character of Claree Belcher.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

"We'll Work 'Til Jesus Comes"

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Being widowed changed my life, but making adjustments and continuing to grow has been its own reward.

Every state besides Nebraska has two legislative chambers. What do you consider the most important differences between the legislative chambers in your state?

The House has specific responsibility to represent the proportionate population and create budgets, while the senate has equal representation of legislative districts.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

Yes, all governing boards have distinct responsibilities to respond to realistic needs of their constituents, to exercise fiscal responsibility and to plan for future needs. Experience at any level is a learning experience that promotes understanding of the requirements and performance in the office.

What do you perceive to be your state’s greatest challenges over the next decade?

The most difficult challenges in the next ten years will be to grow and appropriately allocate Idaho's budget to deal with rebuilding our economy after the Covid crisis. We must adequately fund Education, promote and provide accessible and affordable health care, and balance the the tax load and make taxes fair for all taxpayers.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and the state legislature?

As equal branches of the government, the Idaho Constitution defines their relationship. On a working basis, they must, together, recognize and plan for the state's part in meeting the needs of Idaho residents.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

Working relationships and respect are absolutely essential to completing useful legislation. All Legislators bring the needs of their residents to the legislature and merging them for statewide consistency and benefit supports successful application of any legislation. We must consider the diversity of the state and its varied needs, and work to help each other and our constituents.

What process do you favor for redistricting?

Districts must represent population balance and geographic contiguity. Common community bonds and diversities should be preserved, without making legislative districts so large that connecting with constituents is impossible.

If you are not a current legislator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

My experience might be most useful on the Agricultural, Education, and Health and Welfare Committees.

If you are a current legislator, what appealed to you about your current committees?

N/A

If you are not currently a member of your party’s leadership in the legislature, would you be interested in joining the leadership? If so, in what role?

Yes, at the appropriate level.

Is there a particular legislator, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

I admired and would model myself after our former State Representative, Claire Wetherell, who conducted herself with intelligence, grace and collegiality to represent her District as well as meet the needs of the state.

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

I don't think so-I will enjoy this one and serve with compassion and gratitude.

Both sitting legislators and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

Over and over again we hear from the Hispanic community that they do not have a voice in the legislature. Even though I am not Hispanic I understand that they feel excluded from important political representation.

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.

See also

2020 Elections

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Footnotes

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Current members of the Idaho State Senate

Leadership

Majority Leader:Lori Den Hartog

Minority Leader:Melissa Wintrow

Senators

District 1

Jim Woodward (R)

District 2

Phil Hart (R)

District 3

Doug Okuniewicz (R)

District 4

Ben Toews (R)

District 5

Carl Bjerke (R)

District 6

Dan Foreman (R)

District 7

Cindy Carlson (R)

District 8

Christy Zito (R)

District 9

Brandon Shippy (R)

District 10

Tammy Nichols (R)

District 11

Camille Blaylock (R)

District 12

Ben Adams (R)

District 13

Brian Lenney (R)

District 14

C. Scott Grow (R)

District 15

Codi Galloway (R)

District 16

Alison Rabe (D)

District 17

Carrie Semmelroth (D)

District 18

Janie Ward-Engelking (D)

District 19

Melissa Wintrow (D)

District 20

Josh Keyser (R)

District 21

Treg Bernt (R)

District 22

Lori Den Hartog (R)

District 23

Todd Lakey (R)

District 24

Glenneda Zuiderveld (R)

District 25

Josh Kohl (R)

District 26

Ron Taylor (D)

District 27

Kelly Anthon (R)

District 28

Jim Guthrie (R)

District 29

James Ruchti (D)

District 30

Julie VanOrden (R)

District 31

Van Burtenshaw (R)

District 32

Kevin Cook (R)

District 33

David Lent (R)

District 34

Doug Ricks (R)

District 35

Mark Harris (R)

Republican Party (29)

Democratic Party (6)