Top story
The Senate state of play: An updated handicapping for mid-October 2026
The continued refusal of Alani Bankhead, the Democratic nominee, to defer to Independent Seth Bodnar makes this race essentially unwinnable for Democrats.
Updated Oct 16, 2026, 2:28 PM ET
Independent · 3 November 2026
Todd Achilles
Professor of public policy, Boise State University
Todd Achilles is an Army veteran, former technology executive and former Idaho state representative running as an independent against Republican Jim Risch for U.S. Senate in 2026.
2026 Races & Market Forecast
Live TruthIndex™ and prediction market consensus for races contested by Todd Achilles.
Latest coverage
Live News
Recent media coverage for Todd Achilles.
-
Candidates weigh in on federal public lands
The Lewiston Tribune asked U.S. Senate candidates Jim Risch (R) and Todd Achilles (I), of Idaho, and U.S. House candidates Russ Fulcher (R) and Kaylee
lmtribune.com
Risch -
Full list of 2026 Senate race candidates
There are 35 Senate seats up for grabs in the 2026 midterm elections.
-
Prediction market platform gives Labrador campaign $5,000 amid Idaho betting dispute | Local News
Betting on electionsKalshi provides much more than sports betting. It is a “prediction market” that allows users to bet on how many streams Beyonce will have this year, which team will win Thursday’s NFL game between…
-
Voter guide: Catch up here before the big day
Idaho’s seven constitutional officers serve four-year terms. Republicans currently occupy each office.
No story this week names this candidate.
- Born
- January 1, 1967
Biography & Campaign Analysis
Background
Theodore B. "Todd" Achilles was born in 1967 and was raised on a family farm in West Linn, in the Willamette Valley. From 1992 to 1995 he was an Army officer, serving in armor as a tank commander, and he deployed to the Persian Gulf twice.
For more than two decades afterward he worked in technology and telecommunications, holding executive posts at T-Mobile USA, HTC and Hewlett-Packard, and from 2017 to 2022 he was chief executive of Evoca, an over-the-air subscription television provider with service around Boise, Phoenix and Colorado Springs.
He teaches public policy as a professor at Boise State University and co-founded Veterans for Idaho Voters. He and his wife, Robyn, have two children.
Career
Achilles was a registered Republican until February 2024, when he re-registered as a Democrat to become eligible for appointment to the District 16B seat in the Idaho House of Representatives vacated by Democrat Colin Nash.
Governor Brad Little, a Republican, appointed him that month, and Achilles won election to the seat in November 2024. As a legislator he introduced a bill targeting non-compete clauses and voted in 2025 to reduce Idaho's income tax.
In June 2025 he switched to unaffiliated status, citing the national debt, foreign policy and his view that the two-party system had broken down, and on July 1, 2025, he resigned from the legislature to seek a seat in the U.S. Senate.
2026 race
Achilles is running as an independent in the November 3, 2026, election for the Idaho Senate seat held by Republican Jim Risch, who is seeking a fourth term and won the Republican primary on May 19, 2026, with 67.3 percent of the vote.
Realtor David Roth, the 2022 Democratic nominee, won that party's nomination the same day.
In July 2026 the Ada County Democratic Central Committee gave Roth a deadline to show fundraising and planning progress, saying it would otherwise consider endorsing Achilles, and Roth withdrew on July 28, 2026.
Achilles has pledged to serve at most two Senate terms and favors barring members of Congress from trading stocks.