About Kaylee Peterson
About Kaylee Peterson
Kaylee Peterson is a 36-year-old working mom, sixth-generation Idahoan, and grassroots organizer running to restore trust in government and to fight for working families.
She and her husband, Trevor, recently celebrated 14 years of marriage and 17 years together. They are raising their two children, their 14-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son, in the North Eagle foothills on a street named after Kaylee’s great-grandfather, on land homesteaded by her family generations ago.
Kaylee’s childhood was shaped by both service and sacrifice. Her father served as a Marine before joining the Army National Guard and completing two tours during Iraq War. She spent her early years traveling back and forth between Groton and Eagle before settling permanently in Eagle in 2001. She credits much of the opportunity she has had in life to her mother, who raised her as a single parent while working two and sometimes three jobs at a time to make sure Kaylee had every chance to participate in baseball, theater, debate, and tennis. Watching her mother’s determination shaped Kaylee’s lifelong belief that hard work should create opportunity.
Kaylee has been working since she was 11 years old, nannying, landscaping, and volunteering to build the experience needed to land her first formal job at 15. Since then, she has worked across nearly every corner of the service economy, from fast food and retail to management, giving her firsthand experience with the challenges working families face every day.
Politics and public service have been part of Kaylee’s life since childhood. At just 8 years old, she was writing letters to the Clinton administration and Idaho state senators criticizing U.S. policy in Kosovo.
By 12 and 13, she had become a public speaker and advocate for diverse youth in Idaho’s foster care and school systems. At 18, she was volunteering on Idaho commissioner campaigns, and by 19, she was managing a local state representative’s campaign.
Like many young Idaho families, Kaylee and Trevor faced the reality that childcare costs made full-time work financially impossible. At 21, as they started their family, Kaylee became a stay-at-home mom out of necessity while continuing to work nights and weekends, including as a merchandising manager at Taco Bell Arena and by selling handmade goods at comic conventions and local markets.
Kaylee and Trevor later became foster parents, opening their home to Idaho children in need. That experience deepened her understanding of the challenges facing families across the state and ultimately helped inspire her return to public life.
After the COVID-19 lockdown, at age 30, Kaylee enrolled in college to pursue the public policy work she had always been drawn to. Double-majoring in criminal justice and political science, she quickly emerged as a campus leader, serving as Chief of Staff for student government and as president of the College of Western Idaho’s eight-time national champion speech and debate team. She went undefeated through multiple tournaments and earned nine national titles. During her time there, she also launched innovative programs connecting agriculture students with hands-on community garden projects to strengthen local food systems and practical education opportunities.
Kaylee’s path to Congress began with a simple realization: Idaho was struggling to recruit candidates willing to take on federal races because too often, working-class voices lacked the financial backing and political infrastructure to compete. She decided that if no one else would step up, she would.
What began as ‘just putting her name on the ballot’ quickly became something much bigger. As she traveled Idaho’s 500-mile-long First Congressional District, meeting with rural communities, workers, farmers, small business owners, and families across the state, she saw extraordinary potential for a different kind of politics, one rooted in trust, transparency, and showing up.
For nearly five years and across three election cycles, Kaylee has been building a movement from the ground up, laying the groundwork, developing the infrastructure, building the relationships, and turning that into the messaging needed to unite Idahoans across political divides.
Her campaign is built on a simple belief:
our government should work for everyday people, not corporate donors, political insiders, or party machines.
Today, Kaylee Peterson is working to make history by building the coalition needed to flip Idaho’s First Congressional District in 2026 and prove that principled, working-class leadership focused on common-sense solutions can win in Idaho.
IF MY STORY SPEAKS TO YOU
I’m not running to represent the interests of corporate lobbyists or out-of-state billionaires. I’m running to represent you.
Real change isn't given; it’s taken by people standing together. This mission is fueled by grassroots support from Idahoans who are ready to demand more from their government.
Join me in this fight to put our families, our labor, and our lands first.
