High school senior Shiva Rajbhandari won elected office in Boise, defeating an incumbent school board trustee backed by local extremists.
By Robert Mackey, The Intercept
The nationwide campaign to stifle discussions of race and gender in public schools through misinformation and bullying suffered a reversal in Idaho on Monday, when a high school senior vocally opposed to book bans and smears against LGBTQ+ youth took a seat on the Boise school board.
The student, Shiva Rajbhandari, was elected to the position by voters in Idaho’s capital last week, defeating an incumbent board member who had refused to reject an endorsement from a local extremist group that has harassed students and pushed to censor local libraries.

Rajbhandari, who turned 18 days before the election, was already well-known in the school district as a student organizer on climate, environmental, voting rights, and gun control issues. But in the closing days of the campaign, his opponent, Steve Schmidt, was endorsed by the far-right Idaho Liberty Dogs, which in response helped Rajbhandari win the endorsement of Boise’s leading newspaper, the Idaho Statesman.
Rajbhandari, a third-generation Idahoan whose father is from Nepal, was elected to a two-year term with 56 percent of the vote.
In an interview, Rajbhandari told The Intercept that although he had hoped people would vote for him rather than against his opponent — “My campaign was not against Steve Schmidt,” he said — he was nonetheless shocked that Schmidt did not immediately reject the far-right group’s endorsement. “I think that’s what the majority of voters took issue with,” Rajbhandari said.
Recent Posts
Internationally Beloved Academic, Poet, And Activist Dr. Refaat Alareer Killed By Israel
December 8, 2023
Take Action Now The professor at University of Gaza and co-founder of “We are Not Numbers” refused to evacuate northern Gaza as demanded by Israelis…
Nikki Haley’s Fake Moderation Should Fool No One
December 8, 2023
Take Action Now The favorite of plutocrats and the mainstream media is running a deeply deceptive campaign. By Jeet Heer, The Nation The fourth GOP…
People Aren’t Crazy For Thinking The Biden Economy Is Bad
December 8, 2023
Take Action Now There are many good reasons to be unhappy with the economy today: by conventional social democratic metrics like union density,…
China Hysteria Is Driving Our Bloated Military Budget
December 8, 2023
Take Action Now Washington wants you to believe we’re being outpaced in budget and weapons. That’s not true. by William Hartung,…