Clint Hostetler
Republican | Idaho
Candidate Profile
Verified Conservative
BIOGRAPHY
EDUCATION
California State University Sacramento, Sacramento, CA, BS Graphic Design, 2007
WORK & MILITARY
Candidate did not provide
AFFILIATIONS
Candidate did not provide
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
Idaho House of Representatives District 24A, 2025-2026
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
Idaho House of Representatives District 24A, 2025-2026
SCORECARDS
CONSERVATIVE ORGANIZATIONS
2025
|100%, 100%†
2026
|87%, 90%†
LIBERAL ORGANIZATIONS
2026
|11%
ENDORSEMENTS
CONSERVATIVE (7)
National Rifle Association NRA-PVF
Raul Labrador
Stand For Health Freedom
ConservativesOf: Idaho
Stop Idaho RINOs PAC
REPORTED BY CANDIDATE (1)
Attorney General Raul Labrador
SELECTED CONTRIBUTIONS
CONSERVATIVE
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (8)
Andrew Messer (2026)
Glenneda Zuiderveld (2026)
Josh Kohl (2026)
Lyle Johnstone (2026)
State Republican Party Organizations (2026)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (7)
Ben Toews (2026)
Bruce Skaug (2026)
John Vander Woude (2026)
State Republican Party Organizations (2026)
Clint Hostetler (2025)
OTHER INFORMATION
Representative Clint Hostetler is a member of the Idaho Freedom Caucus.
Candidate responded to iVoterGuide's Questionnaire in 2024.
Idaho Immigration Watch Scorecard
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not receive taxpayer funds from federal, state, or local governments (including Title X grants).
Strongly Agree
Under what circumstances should an elective abortion be allowed?
Did not answer
Human life deserves legal protection from conception until natural death.
Strongly Agree
The lives of human embryos created through artificial methods ought to be protected from purposeful destruction.
Strongly Agree
The Comstock Act, which bans interstate transportation of abortion-inducing drugs, should be enforced.
Strongly Agree
ECONOMY
What is your position on the minimum wage?
I oppose government-mandated minimum wage hikes. Wages should be set by the free market, i.e. employers and employees, not politicians. Wage floors often shrink opportunity for entry-level workers, especially at small businesses.
Free enterprise and the right to private property are essential elements of a productive economic system.
Strongly Agree
List your top 3-5 priorities to eliminate government waste.
Replace baseline budgeting with zero-based budgeting. Require every state agency to justify its budget each year instead of automatically building on last year's spending, growth should never be assumed as a given Keep auditing Medicaid and welfare for waste, fraud, and abuse, including benefits going to those here illegally Spending transparency where taxpayers see exactly where their money goes through a public, searchable spending dashboard or online mechanism, not buried in agency reports
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
What does "separation of church and state" mean to you?
That the state cannot and will not mandate or establish a "state recognized or imposed church." The phrase refers to a God given religious liberty to all, but does not refer to an "exclusion" of religious belief, expression or moral reasoning when it comes to public life or in regard to those who serve in government.
Individuals and businesses should be required to provide services even if it would violate their moral and/or religious beliefs.
Strongly Disagree
Government should never compel anyone to perform or participate in any activity which goes against a person's conscious or moral objections in any professional or personal capacity. This is intrinsically tied to our first amendment rights.
HEALTHCARE
What most closely matches your view on healthcare: A) Healthcare for all should be guaranteed and funded by the government with no private healthcare option. (includes "universal healthcare," "medicare for all," etc.) B) Healthcare insurance funded by the government should be available for all who want it, along with private healthcare options. C) Medicaid and Medicare should remain available, but no other taxpayer-funded programs are necessary. D) Taxpayer funded health care should be abolished in all forms, and Medicaid and Medicare should be defunded.
C is my answer. Civilized societies need social safety nets. But in order to prevent from waste, fraud and abuse, by all parties involved, loopholes should be closed and necessary and stringent safeguards and requirements should be involved in order to maintain the integrity of the program, trust in the institutions that govern such programs, and ability to preserve those programs for those who most need them. The priority should be for efficiency and honesty in such programs.
The government should keep a database of people with various ongoing medical illnesses to assess the economic burden of treatment.
Strongly Disagree
This would be a major red flag for me when it comes to privacy and civil liberty concerns. Nor do I believe that government should ever be in the "business" of calculating "economic burden" when it comes to healthcare, nor are they equipped. This would be a major invasion of medical privacy, and ripe for abuse, let alone the moral implications or treating patients as "figures" vs human beings. I would oppose this at every avenue.
NATIONAL SECURITY
The Chinese Communist Party poses serious military, cyber security, intellectual property, and global economic threats to the United States.
Strongly Disagree
Is the United States' relationship with Israel important, and if so why?
I believe our relationship with every nation is important, for many reasons. Allies have become adversaries and adversaries have become allies. How we handle relationships with all countries heavily dictates the economic future and military security abroad and here nationally. Our priorities change often and global allies shift, and now more than ever, our foreign and domestic policy needs to prioritize our nation and citizens.
IMMIGRATION
I support the existence of sanctuary cities to protect undocumented persons.
Strongly Disagree
Strongly disagree. Sanctuary cities obstruct immigration enforcement, put our citizens at risk and erode public trust. Again our citizens need to come first, and the sovereignty of our nation depends upon laws and borders, and all levels of government should be working together to prioritize our citizens' safety and economic security.
EDUCATION
I support eliminating the U.S. Department of Education and giving control back to states and communities.
Strongly Agree
I strongly agree. Education decisions are best made by the parents, teachers and local communities. The "one-size fits all" system created by DC bureaucrats puts our children at a disadvantage, ties the hands of our local administrators, creates more hoops and roadblocks for our teachers to do their job and doesn't allow for full control over curriculum, standards or funding. I would fully support eliminating the U.S. DOE
Foreign governments should be prohibited from funding American education.
Strongly Agree
This is a no brainer, and I strongly agree. Foreign, especially adversarial, government funding in American education creates real national security and influence risks. Confucius Institutes are the clearest example. Our schools should be free of foreign government influence, as should the rest of our institutions and government.
VALUES
Government should recognize and support the fundamental right and essential duty of parents to direct their child's health and educational well-being.
Strongly Agree
Parental rights are one of the most essential and God-given rights we have. It should be the role of government to protect and defend them at all cost.
Attempts to physically or socially transition a child to the opposite sex constitute child abuse.
Strongly Agree
Marriage is a God-ordained, sacred and legal union of one man and one woman. No government has the authority to alter this definition.
Strongly Agree
I support the expansion of gambling in my state.
Strongly Disagree
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
I am a Christian and my faith defines me, drives my personal life, dictates my world view as well as my political world view.
ELECTIONS AND VOTING
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Strongly Disagree
Now more than ever, election integrity matters. ID is required for almost everything these days, whether it's boarding a plane or opening a bank account, it should be no less important when it comes to shaping the political direction and future of our local, state, and national elections. I support strengthening election integrity at every opportunity.
EQUALITY
Reparations should be given to people on the basis of race.
Strongly Disagree
Strongly disagree. Government should treat every citizen equally under the law, regardless of race. Reparations run counter to that principle.
Biological males should not be allowed to participate in women's sports or occupy biological women's spaces whether it be bathrooms, locker rooms, sorority houses, women's shelters, or prison.
Strongly Agree
This is a no-brainer. The fact we have to discuss this speaks of how far down we've gone in our nation, morally and socially.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
Man-made climate change is a global threat and requires urgent political action.
Strongly Disagree
What do you believe is the most reliable energy source that will supply the growing demand for electricity?
Nuclear, it is reliable, scalable, carbon-free and we already are leading the nation in this area, right here in Idaho. Natural gas and geothermal are also reliable complements that are valuable here as well.
ABOUT YOU
When you consider your views on a wide range of issues from economic and social matters to foreign policy and religious liberty, which of the following best describes you overall?
Very Conservative
I ran on a staunch conservative platform. One built on constitutional and individual liberties, pro-family and pro-life values, a transparent, accountable, and restrained government, lower taxes, free market principles, secure borders and elections, and sovereignty as both a state and a nation. I believe the First Amendment is the lynchpin holding our nation and every other right in place.
Have you ever been penalized for sexual misconduct in either civil or criminal court? If so, please explain.
No
Have you ever been convicted of a felony? If so, please explain.
No
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY
What should be the goal of the criminal justice system?
Equal and consistent application of the law, public safety, and real accountability for offenders.
Government has a responsibility to protect children from sexual exploitation during online activities.
Agree
Agree. Government must aggressively prosecute online predators and hold platforms accountable, but parents, not government, hold the ultimate responsibility for protecting and supervising their children.
Sharia law should not be accepted or incorporated in any form within the legal framework of the United States.
Strongly Agree
Foreign laws or courts should have on ground or validity in our nation. Our constitution is and should be the law of the land.
2ND AMENDMENT
What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?
I fully support "Constitutional Carry" in Idaho, and would be in favor of loosening some of our restrictions in certain locations. I am against "red-flag" laws or restrictions on law-abiding citizens, and I absolutely reject laws that restrict that constitutional right without due process.
