Lessons from Lincoln: Idaho historian reflects on leadership and America’s 250th
About this episode
David Leroy reflects on his political career and the influence of Lincoln on Idaho's history.
Despite losing a bid for Idaho governor with less than one percentage point and failing twice to represent Idaho in Congress, David Leroy says he doesn’t have any “political work left undone.” The 78-year-old Boise man is a longtime Idaho attorney with an extensive political career in the state. It began in the 1970s as Ada County prosecutor, followed by a term as Idaho Attorney General. He was elected to the position in 1978 at age 31 — the youngest attorney general in the nation at that time. Four years later, he was elected Lieutenant Governor on the Republican ticket. He served under Gov. John Evans, a Democrat from Malad. He lost the gubernatorial race against Cecil Andrus in 1986 by only eight-tenths of a percent. After serving as the U.S. Nuclear Waste Negotiator under President George H.W. Bush, he became a candidate for Idaho’s first Congressional District in 1994. He finished second in the Republican primary behind Helen Chenoweth. He ran for the same Congressional seat in 2017 and lost to Russ Fulcher, who currently serves as one of Idaho’s U.S. Representatives. Leroy is also a historian and the founder of the Idaho Lincoln Institute. America’s 16th president signed…
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