Biography
Karen Matthee is the Democratic candidate for the Idaho House of Representatives, District 1A, in the November 3, 2026 general election, facing Republican Jane Sauter.[1][2] A former journalist and author, she was also the Democratic candidate for the seat in 2024.[2]
Karen Matthee was born in Redwood City, California, and graduated from Prospect High School.[2] She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1981 and a graduate degree from Northwestern University in 1983.[2] Her career experience includes work as an author and print journalist, and she has been affiliated with Rotary and the Better Together Animal Alliance.[2] In a 2024 Ballotpedia survey she described herself as a former long-time journalist and communications director for a nonprofit that served landmine survivors in Southeast Asia and Afghanistan.[3]
Matthee lost the 2024 general election for District 1A to incumbent Mark Sauter.[2] In her 2024 survey she named access to doctors, property tax relief and public school funding as her main concerns, and she said she would support legislation to restore indexing of the homeowners exemption.[3]
- 1.Idaho House of Representatives elections, 2026 · Ballotpedia Reference
- 2.Karen Matthee · Ballotpedia Reference
- 3.Karen Matthee - Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey (2024) · Ballotpedia Candidate's own words
Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21. Not yet independently fact-checked.
Idaho House District 1A
Karen Matthee is on the Nov 3, 2026 ballot for Idaho House District 1A as D. Not researched in depth — candidate list only.