Megan Blanksma (born in

Nampa, Idaho Nampa () is the largest city in Canyon County, Idaho. Its population was 100,200 at the time of the 2020 Census. It is Idaho's third-most populous city. Nampa is about west of Boise along Interstate 84, and six miles (10 km) west of Meridian. ...

) is an American politician serving as a member of the

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

District 23 A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

in seat B. Blanksma currently serves as the Majority Leader for the House of Representatives.

Early life and education

Blanksma was born and raised in

Nampa The Namibia Press Agency (NAMPA) is the national news agency of the Namibia, Republic of Namibia. It was founded in 1987 under the name Namibia Press Association as a SWAPO partisan press agency, and resuscitated after Namibian War of Independence ...

. She graduated from

Nampa High School Nampa High School is a four-year public secondary school in Nampa, Idaho, the oldest of three high schools operated by the Nampa School District #131. The school colors are red white and blue and the mascot is a bulldog. Athletics Nampa compet ...

and served as a

legislative page A page is an occupation in some professional capacity. Unlike traditional pages, who are normally younger males, these pages tend to be older and can be either male or female. Workplace Pages are present in some modern workforces. American telev ...

in the

Idaho Senate The Idaho Senate is the upper chamber of the Idaho State Legislature. It consists of 35 Senators elected to two-year terms, each representing a district of the state. The Senate meets at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise, Idaho. Composition of t ...

during her senior year. Later, 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 ...

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

from the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The University ...

Career

From 2014 to 2016, Blanksma served as Chair of the Elmore County Republican Party, after many years as a volunteer in many capacities at the county and state level. She also serves on the St. Luke's Elmore Community Board.

Idaho House of Representatives

Blanksma challenged 14-year incumbent Pete Nielsen in the Republican primary in 2016. She was endorsed by Governor

Butch Otter Clement Leroy "Butch" Otter (born May 3, 1942) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 32nd governor of Idaho from 2007 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected in 2006, and reelected in 2010, and 2014. Otter ...

. After securing the nomination, Blanksma faced only independent and third party opposition in the general election and was elected to the seat.

Committee assignments

*Heath and Welfare Committee *Local Government Committee *Resources and Conservation Committee

Personal life

Blanksma and her husband, Jeff, live on a farm in

Hammett, Idaho Hammett is an unincorporated community in Elmore County, Idaho, United States. Hammett is located on Idaho State Highway 78 8.5 miles (13.7 km) west of Glenns Ferry. Hammett has a post office A post office is a public facility and a ...

Elections

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blanksma, Megan Living people Women state legislators in Idaho Idaho Republicans University of Idaho alumni People from Nampa, Idaho People from Elmore County, Idaho Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians