Independent · Idaho Senate · 2026
Todd Achilles
Achilles grew up on a family farm and went on to command tanks in the Army.
Biography
Todd Achilles grew up on an Oregon family farm and remembers being the 4-H kid at the county fair every summer.1 His family raised sheep.2 He and his wife, Robyn, have two daughters and live in Boise.3
Achilles served as an Army tank commander and armor officer, including two deployments to the Persian Gulf.1 His civilian career included more than two decades in technology and telecommunications, with executive jobs at T-Mobile and Hewlett-Packard.3 He earned his undergraduate degree at Claremont McKenna and graduate degrees at Washington and Berkeley.3
He has taught public policy at Berkeley and technology policy at Boise State, and coauthored research on semiconductor industry competition and implementation of the CHIPS Act.3 He also helped found Veterans for Idaho Voters, an organization advocating electoral reform and citizen initiatives.3 Achilles served in Idaho's House as a Democrat from 2024 to 2025 before leaving to pursue an independent Senate campaign.4
His platform promises healthcare price transparency, stronger competition among insurers, housing reforms and protection against public land sales.5 He also wants congressional term limits and Congress to reclaim its authority over decisions to go to war.5 He faces Republican Senator Jim Risch on November 3; Democratic nominee David Roth withdrew, leaving no Democrat on the ballot.6 A victory would make him Idaho's first non Republican senator elected since Frank Church in 1974.6
Record and controversies
Late disclosure fine
Achilles filed his disclosure and paid a $200 late fine in December 2025 after Republicans requested an ethics review; he accepted responsibility.7