James E. Risch
Republican · ID · U.S. Senate
Bio
James Elroy Risch is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Idaho since 2009. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Lieutenant Governor of Idaho under Governors Dirk Kempthorne and Butch Otter, and briefly as Governor between their terms.
Full bio on Wikipedia →Overall lean (DW-NOMINATE)
Issue profile
Each issue runs left ↔ right, scored from how the member voted on bills tagged to that issue (−1…+1). Issues with too few votes are blank. Overall lean uses DW-NOMINATE.
Recent notable votes
Latest news
- Risch, Coons Statement on Violence in Sudan
Today, U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement on the violence in Sudan:
Globalsecurity.org · July 1, 2026 - Risch, Cornyn, Colleagues' Bill to Prevent Foreign Adversaries from Influencing U.S. Policy Passes Senate Foreign Relations Committee
U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, joined U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-Texas), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and John K…
Globalsecurity.org · June 22, 2026 - Risch, Colleagues Statement on Violent Protests in Bolivia
U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), John Curtis (R-Utah), and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) today released the statement below on the ongoing violent attempts to destabilize Bolivia.
Globalsecurity.org · May 21, 2026 
Jim Risch wins Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in IdahoJim Risch wins Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in Idaho
Abcnews.com · May 20, 2026
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