RV There Yet? On the Road

RV THERE YET?

On The Road with Rudy Soto

“I’d been gone for 20 years, but home is home and Idaho has always

remained that for me,” explains Idahoan and congressional candidate Rudy Soto. He’s speaking, like all of us, through a computer screen somewhere in the state. “I was in Orofino the morning before, and Wallace. We were in Coeur d’Alene and Sandpoint. It’s hard to keep up from day to day-where am I waking up?” Soto laughs. From Ada to Washington and every county in between, one thing is certain: Rudy Soto is going places.

And he’s getting there via RV, a campaign decision made in the midst of Covid-19 to ensure that he was able to meet people around the state in a safe and responsible way. Although the RV can be difficult (it overheats on mountain passes, for example), Soto says he’s loved the opportunity to interact with people in towns all across the state, shirking the generic “tried and tested” campaign tactics and field plans that require more face-to-face interaction.

Visibility is important to Soto, the new kid on the block. His campaign is funded almost entirely (90%) by individual small contributors and 10% by contributions from tribes he’s worked with in his advocacy work for Native American communities (he is himself a member of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes) , and he values that. He seems to see himself as just one of the diverse individuals that make up this great state, calling himself a different kind of Democrat. “It has to do with being born and raised in Canyon County, in a conservative place” he says. Soto explains that it doesn’t make sense to promise free college when Idaho ranks last in K through 12 per student spending, so he’s more focused on initiatives in exchange for service--tuition assistance. “A hand up and not a hand out,” he says.

Soto has made a point to keep his campaign Idaho-specific, relatively free of the divisiveness that has governed national politics, which he says has resonated well with people. He emphasizes Idaho’s diversity, and says he does his best to keep it real. For him, this means fighting for the things the people of Idaho want--like Medicaid expansion. “Out of 19 counties, 16 voted for Medicaid expansion, and with the personal aspect of my dad passing away and a lack of access to affordable healthcare, that was a driver for me. My opponent, Russ Fulcher, was a champion against Medicaid expansion. What a perfect contrast,” Soto says.

No matter what happens in this election, Soto says he’s committed to working in service of Idaho and the people who live here, whatever that looks like. “I got an email last night from a former teacher of mine--a Republican--and she said she voted for me. I’ve run into Photos courtesy of Rudy Soto. people I’ve known, and we recognize each other, it’s just that, all the sudden, 20 years has passed,” Soto says. “20 years has passed by, but here we are standing together.”

No matter what happens in this election, Soto says he’s committed to working in service of Idaho and the people who live here, whatever that looks like.