Ronald M. Nate is an American far-right politician and economist serving as a member of the Idaho House of Representatives from the 34th. He is an economics professor at

Brigham Young University–Idaho Brigham Young University–Idaho (BYU–Idaho or BYU–I) is a private college in Rexburg, Idaho. Founded in 1888, the college is owned and operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Previously known as Ricks Colleg ...

Early life and education

Nate was born in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

. He earned

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 economics from the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

, and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

and a

doctoral degree A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

in economics from the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...

Career

He has been a professor of economics at Brigham Young University–Idaho since 2001 and is a member of the

Foundation for Economic Education The Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) is an American conservative, libertarian economic think tank. Founded in 1948 in New York City, FEE is now headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. It is a member of the State Policy Network. FEE offers pub ...

faculty network.

Politics

In 2014, he ran against the

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...

Douglas A. Hancey in the Republican primary, winning with 55.3% of the vote. He ran unopposed in the general election. In 2016, Nate won the Republican primary against Doug Ricks with 51.6% of the vote. He ran unopposed in the general election. He supported

Ted Cruz Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas from ...

in the

Republican Party presidential primaries, 2016 Presidential primaries and caucuses of the Republican Party took place within all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories between February 1 and June 7, 2016. These elections selected the 2,472 delegates that were se ...

. In 2018, Nate faced a rematch with

Doug Ricks Doug Ricks is an American businessman and politician serving as a Republican member of the Idaho Senate from the 34th district. Ricks previously served in the Idaho House of Representatives from 2018 to 2020. Early life and education Ricks was ...

in the 2018 Idaho Republican Party primary. He lost the May primary by 159 votes with 49% of the vote. He endorsed

Russ Fulcher Russell Mark Fulcher (born March 9, 1962) is an American businessman and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Idaho's 1st congressional district since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he represented the 21st district in the ...

in the Idaho 1st Congressional district race. He also endorsed

Raúl Labrador Raúl Rafael Labrador (born December 8, 1967) is an American lawyer and politician who is the Attorney General-elect of Idaho. A member of the Republican Party, he chaired the Idaho Republican Party from 2019 to 2020 and served as the U.S. Repre ...

for governor. In 2018, Nate was named Idaho Republican Party state legislator of the year. Previously, he served as chairman of the Madison County Republican central committee from 2006 to 2010 and chaired the Idaho Republican caucuses in 2012. He served as an adviser to the

College Republicans College Republicans are college and university students who support the Republican Party of the United States. Many members belong to the organization College Republican National Committee (CRNC), College Republicans United (CRU), or various in ...

before the group was officially dissolved by the university in 2009. In the 2020 elections Nate plans on running for District 34 Seat B. From 2007 to 2013, he was a member of the Idaho Judicial Council. He was a

delegate at the

2016 Republican National Convention The 2016 Republican National Convention, in which delegates of the United States Republican Party chose the party's nominees for president and vice president in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, was held July 18–21, 2016, at Quicken Lo ...

and a

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...

delegate at the

2008 Republican National Convention The 2008 Republican National Convention took place at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota, from September 1, through September 4, 2008. The first day of the Republican Party's convention fell on Labor Day, the last day of the popul ...

. He was an alternate delegate for

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

at the

2004 Republican National Convention The 2004 Republican National Convention took place from August 30 to September 2, 2004 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The convention is one of a series of historic quadrennial meetings at which the Republican candidates fo ...

. Additionally, he is a co-founder of the Madison Liberty Institute in Rexburg, chair of the Idaho state Republican Party's Rules Committee, state committeeman for the Madison County Republicans, a member of the Idaho Republican Resolutions Committee, and the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. political committee that assists the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in fu ...

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The c ...

Outreach Committee. While in office, Nate served on the Environment, Energy & Technology, Judiciary, Rules & Administration, and Revenue & Taxation committees. In the 2020 election, Nate was reelected to the Idaho House of Representatives. In 2022, Nate ran for re-election, but was defeated by Britt Raybould in the Republican primary.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nate, Ronald M. Living people People from Rexburg, Idaho University of Utah alumni University of Connecticut alumni Brigham Young University–Idaho faculty Republican Party members of the Idaho House of Representatives Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American politicians Far-right politicians in the United States