U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-ID), who is running for his fourth six-year term with President Trump’s endorsement, was approached by his independent challenger, Todd Achilles, at a 9/11 memorial ceremony at the Boise Airport on Friday.
As seen in the video below, Achilles approached Risch, and the two men shook hands. When Achilles said, “I’m Todd, we need to debate,” Risch walked away.
With the video posted on social media, Achilles wrote: “83 year old Jim Risch is running for another 6 years in the U.S. Senate and after 56 years in elected office we know one thing about Jim, he’s a chicken. He is refusing to let Idahoans hear a real debate on the issues. … He’s refusing to talk about why he raised sales taxes on Idaho families, and he’s refusing to hold a hearing or have a debate about why he’s rubber stamping another foreign war in Iran”
Achilles, a U.S. Army veteran who was deployed twice in the Persian Gulf, added, “As a veteran who served our country, the last thing I would ever look to do is put Idaho’s sons and daughters in uniform in harms [sic] way. Idaho deserves a fighter, not a chicken. It’s time to retire Jim Risch.”
83 year old Jim Risch is running for another 6 years in the U.S. Senate and after 56 years in elected office we know one thing about Jim, he’s a chicken. He is refusing to let Idahoans hear a real debate on the issues. He’s refusing to answer why he’s taken thousands in campaign… pic.twitter.com/57WrWbXxs4
— Achilles for Idaho | U.S. Senate 2026 (@Achilles4Idaho) September 12, 2026
Some conservatives on X criticized Achilles for “ambushing” Risch at a 9/11 memorial at the airport, while Achilles defended approaching the senator saying: “This is exactly the time when we should be having conversations about sending Americans to war and what’s going on in Iran.” Achilles reported that Risch “called security.”
[NOTE: In March, when Risch, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was asked by Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) when the committee was going to have a public hearing about the war in Iran, according to Murphy and Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), Risch said: “I have decided that we will not have public hearings because I do not believe the administration’s decision-makers should be subject to public questioning by senators.”]
Kaine: Chris asked Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Senator Jim Risch: ‘When are we going to have a public hearing about this war? When?’
Senator Risch responded: ‘I have decided that we will not have public hearings because I do not believe the administration’s… pic.twitter.com/LQkhaGWoSt
— Acyn (@Acyn) March 18, 2026
The Idaho Senate race no longer has a Democratic nominee after David Roth officially removed his name from the ballot last week, citing a lack of support from the Idaho Democratic Party.
According to the Idaho Capital Sun, Roth “had faced strong pressure from supporters of independent candidate Todd Achilles, who argued an independent had a better chance of defeating the longtime incumbent in a head-to-head race. Roth did not endorse Achilles.”
Achilles served as a member of the Idaho House of Representatives from 2024 to 2025 as a Democrat.
In addition to Risch and Achilles, independent Natalie Fleming and Libertarian Matt Loesby are on the ballot.