Dorothy Moon is an American

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

David Smith
'Republican and more Republican': Idaho shifts ever rightward
''The Guardian'' (May 11, 2022): "elections for other offices of state are more competitive between the hard right and harder right. ... Dorothy Moon, a member of the far-right John Birch Society, is a contender for secretary of state."James Dawson
Idaho Gov. Brad Little wins GOP primary over Trump's pick, Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin
Boise State Public Radio News (May 17, 2022): "Other far-right candidates are following McGeachin's lead by seeking statewide office in the Republican Party primary. ... Two state lawmakers, Dorothy Moon and Mary Souza, who both falsely insist that President Biden lost the 2020 presidential election, want to become Idaho secretary of state." politician who served as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of

Idaho House of Representatives The Idaho House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Idaho State Legislature. It consists of 70 representatives elected to two-year terms. The state is divided into 35 districts, each of which elects two representatives to separate se ...

from the 8B district from 2016 to 2022. Moon has been the Chair of

Idaho Republican Party The Idaho Republican Party (IDGOP) is the Idaho state affiliate of the United States Republican Party, headquartered in Boise. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling both of Idaho's U.S. House seats, both U.S. Senate seats, ...

since July 2022.

Early life and education

Born in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

,''Idaho Blue Book, 2019-2020''
p. 205.Kelcie Moseley-Morris
Who's who in the GOP race to be Idaho's next secretary of state?
''Idaho Capital Sun'' (April 20, 2022). Moon grew up near the

Ozark Mountains The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant portio ...

. She earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in secondary education and a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

in resource planning from

Missouri State University Missouri State University (MSU or MO State), formerly Southwest Missouri State University, is a public university in Springfield, Missouri. Founded in 1905 as the Fourth District Normal School, it is the state's second largest university by enr ...

Career

Moon moved to Idaho in 1994. She was a special education director and science teacher at Challis High School, retiring in 2012. Since 1994, she has been president of Moon & Associates, Inc, an engineering and surveying company, and owns a gold mining operation in central Idaho. According to her official biography, she took part in a 1992 Antarctic expedition with Lamont Doherty Geological Observatory. In 2009, Moon became involved with the

Tea Party movement The Tea Party movement was an American fiscally conservative political movement within the Republican Party that began in 2009. Members of the movement called for lower taxes and for a reduction of the national debt and federal budget defic ...

. She ran as a Republican for

for the 8B district in 2016 and won the November 2016 election, defeating Ammon Emanuel Prolife with 87.3% of the votes. She was re-elected in the November 2018 general election. The district consists of Lemhi,

Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...

Boise Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown area's ...

Gem A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, a ...

, and

Valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between Hill, hills or Mountain, mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers ...

counties. In the

2022 elections The following elections are scheduled to occur in 2022. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2022 United Nations Security Council election * 2022 national electoral calendar * 2022 local e ...

, Moon sought the Republican nomination for

Secretary of State of Idaho The secretary of state of Idaho is one of the constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Idaho. It is an elected position within the Executive (government), executive branch of the state government. The current secretary of state is Lawerence ...

. Moon made baseless claims of voter fraud, claiming on the Idaho House floor without evidence that people from Canada came into Idaho to vote in the

2020 United States presidential election The 2020 United States presidential election was the 59th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and the junior U.S. senator from California Kamala Ha ...

. Moon lost the primary race to

Phil McGrane Philip McGrane is an American politician from Idaho who is serving as the Secretary of State of Idaho. He previously served as the county clerk for Ada County, Idaho. He is a member of the Republican Party. As a candidate for secretary of state, ...

Idaho Republican Party

In July 2022, Moon was elected chair of the Idaho Republican Party, defeating incumbent

Tom Luna Thomas Luna (born 1958)Superintendent of Public ...

by a vote of 434–287. She drew praise from conservatives and libertarians for her hard-right voting record. Take Back Idaho, a group of Idaho Republicans who oppose extremism, decried her election as "absolutely disturbing."

Political positions

Moon is part of the

, which gained strength in Idaho politics in the 2020s. She is a member of the

John Birch Society The John Birch Society (JBS) is an American right-wing political advocacy group. Founded in 1958, it is anti-communist, supports social conservatism, and is associated with ultraconservative, radical right, far-right, or libertarian ideas. T ...

Militia movements

Moon is a supporter of Eric Parker, a right-wing

militia movement The American militia movement is a term used by law enforcement and security analysts to refer to a number of private organizations that include paramilitary or similar elements. These groups may refer to themselves as militia, unorganized milit ...

leader who pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor of obstructing a court order, arising from his role in the 2014

Bundy standoff The 2014 Bundy standoff was an armed confrontation between supporters of cattle rancher Cliven Bundy and law enforcement following a 21-year legal dispute in which the United States Bureau of Land Management (BLM) obtained court orders directin ...

in Nevada, in which armed men faced off with federal agents at a ranch near

Bunkerville, Nevada Bunkerville is a census-designated place in Clark County, Nevada, United States. The population was 1,303 at the 2010 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the census-designated place of Bunkerville (which may not coi ...

. Moon organized a letter-writing campaign on Parker's behalf, and introduced him to applause in a session of the state House.Jason Wilson
Idaho candidate for governor endorsed by rightwing militia leader, video reveals
''The Guardian'' (June 9, 2021).Bryan Clark

''Post Register'' (January 23, 2018).

Education standards

In 2020, Moon opposed the adoption of proposed state educational standards for English, literacy, and science; she specifically objected to what she contended was an insufficiently positive portrayal of logging, mining and other

resource extraction Extractivism is the process of extracting natural resources from the Earth to sell on the world market. It exists in an economy that depends primarily on the extraction or removal of natural resources that are considered valuable for exportation w ...

industries, and opposed content on the adverse environmental impacts of logging and dams.

Environment

In 2021, Moon sponsored legislation that called for the killing of 90% of the state's

gray wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...

. Moon also supported a measure to urge Congress to revoke " wilderness study area" designation from large swaths of Idaho land, as well as a separate measure to urging Congress to restrict the ability of private landowners to sell their land to conservation organizations for transfer to a federal agency.

Vaccines and COVID-19

In March 2020, during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Idaho The first case relating to the COVID-19 pandemic in Idaho was confirmed on March 13, 2020, when a Boise woman tested positive. As of February 15, 2023, there have been 517,540 confirmed cases and 5,389 deaths within Idaho, while 975,583 people ha ...

, Moon promoted an end-of-session party in downtown

, despite public health advice to avoid large in-person gatherings to prevent the spread of the disease.James Dawson
Idaho House Republicans: Party On Amid Coronavirus
Boise State Public Radio (March 17, 2020). In October 2020, she was one of several Republican Idaho elected officials to appear in an Idaho Freedom Foundation video questioning the existence of the pandemic. In February 2021, Moon supported a measure to ban state contractors from requiring employees to be vaccinated ( against COVID-19 or any other disease).James Dawson
Bill Barring State Contractors From Having A Vaccine Mandate Clears Idaho House
Boise State Public Radio (February 24, 2021). During the legislative debate, Moon was one of several Republican state representatives who spread

anti-vaccine Vaccine hesitancy is a delay in acceptance, or refusal, of vaccines despite the availability of vaccine services and supporting evidence. The term covers refusals to vaccinate, delaying vaccines, accepting vaccines but remaining uncertain abou ...

misinformation, claiming that her son became autistic after receiving a vaccine. During the debate, Moon said: "There's no way another Moon will ever take a vaccine until the end of any of our lives." In March 2021, Moon and fellow state Representative

Heather Scott Heather Scott is an American biologist, businesswoman, and far-right politician serving as a Republican Party (United States), Republican member of the Idaho House of Representatives from the 1st district. Early life and education Born in Ohio, ...

organized a demonstration in support of a bill to terminate the COVID-19 emergency in Idaho; the rally featured multiple

face mask The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human Personal identity, identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental d ...

burnings in

burn barrel Incineration is a waste treatment process that involves the combustion of substances contained in waste materials. Industrial plants for waste incineration are commonly referred to as waste-to-energy facilities. Incineration and other high ...

Election of Joe Biden

Moon has said she does not believe Joe Biden was legitimately elected president of the United States. Days after her election as party chair in July 2022, the party was scheduled to consider a resolution declaring as such.

Personal life

Moon's husband is Darr, a licensed civil engineer and land surveyor who serves on the national council of the

. They have two children. They live near

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

Electoral history

2020 Idaho House of Representatives election The 2020 Idaho House of Representatives elections took place as part of the biennial United States elections on November 3, 2020. Idaho voters elected state representatives in all 70 seats of the House, electing 2 state representatives in each ...

;Seat B

2022 Idaho Secretary of State Republican primary election

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moon, Dorothy 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Far-right politicians in the United States Living people Republican Party members of the Idaho House of Representatives Missouri State University alumni Women state legislators in Idaho John Birch Society members Year of birth missing (living people)