Peter Riggs

Peter Riggs

Republican Party

Prior offices

Idaho State Senate District 3

Successor: Doug Okuniewicz

Predecessor: Don Cheatham

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Elections and appointments

Last election

May 17, 2022

Education

Graduate

University of Idaho

Personal

Profession

Business executive

Contact

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Peter Riggs (Republican Party) was a member of the Idaho State Senate, representing District 3. He assumed office on December 1, 2020. He left office on December 1, 2022.

Riggs (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Idaho State Senate to represent District 5. He lost in the Republican primary on May 17, 2022.

Biography

Peter Riggs graduated from Lake City High School. Riggs earned an undergraduate degree and M.B.A. from the University of Idaho. His career experience includes working as a franchisee and franchisor. Riggs served with the board of directors of the Couer d'Alene Chamber of Commerce.

Committee assignments

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.

2021-2022

Riggs was assigned to the following committees:

• Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee
• Joint Millennium Fund Committee
• Senate Commerce and Human Resources Committee
• Finance Committee
• Senate Health and Welfare Committee, Vice-chair

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

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

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 14,586
= candidate completed 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

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 8,314
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Vicki Null-Carey (R)

2020

See also: Idaho State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for Idaho State Senate District 3

Peter Riggs won election in the general election for Idaho State Senate District 3 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Peter Riggs (R)	100.0	24,141

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 24,141
= 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 3

Peter Riggs defeated Marc Eberlein and Alexander Barron in the Republican primary for Idaho State Senate District 3 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Peter Riggs	41.8	2,870
		Marc Eberlein	35.0	2,402
		Alexander Barron	23.2	1,597

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 6,869
= 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.

2016

See also: Idaho House of Representatives elections, 2016

Elections for the Idaho House of Representatives were held in 2016. The primary election took place on May 17, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was March 11, 2016.

Incumbent Don Cheatham ran unopposed in the Idaho House of Representatives District 3B general election.

Idaho House of Representatives, District 3B General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Don Cheatham Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	16,891
Total Votes				16,891
Source: Idaho Secretary of State

Incumbent Don Cheatham defeated Peter Riggs in the Idaho House of Representatives District 3B Republican primary.

Idaho House of Representatives District 3B, Republican Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Don Cheatham Incumbent	50.87%	1,865
	Republican	Peter Riggs	49.13%	1,801
Total Votes				3,666
Source: Idaho Secretary of State

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Peter Riggs did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Peter Riggs did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2016

Riggs' campaign website highlighted the following issues:

“

Jobs and business Excerpt: "The only role that government should play in the world of small business is to help make sure they are operating in an environment that is conducive to allowing the entrepreneurial and industrious spirit of this country to thrive and be competitive throughout the world." States' rights Excerpt: "I firmly believe in the 10th Amendment that: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” The Federal Government has simply overreached its authority in too many areas." Taxes and fiscal responsibility Excerpt: "The government should never take more money than is needed to provide the necessary public services that keep us safe and able to live our lives and run our businesses in the most effective way possible." Education Excerpt: "There is no good 'one-size fits all' strategy for education. We need to do a better job of providing different avenues of learning for kids who learn in different ways." Healthcare Excerpt: "The consequences of Obamacare have been devastating for both businesses and individuals alike. Health insurance costs continue to rise as service time and quality plummets. It is of the utmost importance that we avail ourselves of all tools at our disposal in order to set the people of Idaho back on a path towards cost-effective healthcare coverage." Gun rights Excerpt: "I firmly believe in the Second Amendment. The history of this country was built on our forefathers’ need to protect themselves and secure their futures – with guns." Property rights Excerpt: "It is critically important that our government protects the people’s property and honors the people’s privacy, and under no circumstance, become the very threat that the people need to fear."

”

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Idaho

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.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

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.

2022

In 2022, the Idaho State Legislature was in session from January 10 to March 31.

• ACLU Idaho

Legislators are scored on their stance on civil liberties issues.

• Citizens Alliance of Idaho

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to upholding and defending Idaho values.

• Idaho Association of Commerce & Industry

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business and economic issues.

• Idaho Business for Education

Legislators are scored on their stance on education policy.

• Idaho Freedom Foundation

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues.

• Idaho Wildlife Federation

Legislators are scored on how they voted on sportsman-related bills.

• National Federation of Independent Business

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.

• The American Conservative Union

Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2021

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show].

In 2021, the Idaho State Legislature was in session from January 11 to November 17. ACLU Idaho Legislators are scored on their stance on civil liberties issues. Idaho Business for Education Legislators are scored on their stance on education policy. Idaho Freedom Foundation Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. Idaho Wildlife Federation Legislators are scored on how they voted on sportsman-related bills. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

See also

2022 Elections

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Don Cheatham (R)	Idaho State Senate District 3 2020-2022	Succeeded by Doug Okuniewicz (R)

[show]

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)