Can Indy Vet Todd Achilles Pull It Off in Idaho?

Idaho isn’t supposed to be in play. Nobody told Todd Achilles. The army veteran and independent Senate candidate is within single digits of 83-year-old incumbent Jim Risch — a senator who won’t debate, won’t hold town halls, and voted against the PACT Act. Paul Rieckhoff sits down with Achilles in the final sprint to talk Republicans walking away from Trump, Democrats hungry for a candidate of character, and the sleeping giant of independents finally getting someone to vote for.

October 29, 2026

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Can Indy Vet Todd Achilles Pull It Off in Idaho?

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Idaho is one of the most independent-minded states in America, and for the first time in a generation it has an independent on the ballot…

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→ Four things from today’s episode

Todd Achilles on how a truck-and-a-prayer campaign broke int. Todd Achilles on how a truck-and-a-prayer campaign broke into national contention within single digits of Jim Risch

Why Republicans in Idaho are quietly peeling off from Trump. and why they won’t jump all the way to the Democrats

The Democratic voters in Idaho looking for a candidate of ch. The Democratic voters in Idaho looking for a candidate of character they can actually support

The sleeping giant. 45%+ independents in a state that’s never had an independent option on the ballot