Terri Pickens

Terri Pickens is a fourth-generation Idahoan who was born and raised in Pocatello, where she graduated from Highland High School.⁠[1][2]

She received a B.A. in political science from the University of Southern CaliforniaUniversity of Southern CaliforniaThe University of Southern California (USC) is a private research university in Los Angeles, California, planned by a group led by Judge Robert Maclay Widney and opened to students in 1880.Open the full entry in 1994 and a J.D. from the University of Idaho College of Law in 1998, where she was involved with the Idaho Law Review and the Appellate Clinic.⁠[1]

After law school she worked as a public defender for Nez Perce County in Lewiston, and in 1999 she moved to Boise as a trial attorney.⁠[1][2]

In 2008 she founded the Boise law firm Pickens Law, P.A., as its founding partner; the firm handles real estate, construction and general commercial litigation as well as estate planning.⁠[1][3]

She is a member of the Idaho State Bar, Idaho Women Lawyers and the Idaho Trial Lawyers Association, and is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for Idaho and the Ninth Circuit.⁠[1]

On August 11, 2021, then known as Terri Pickens Manweiler, she announced a campaign for lieutenant governor of Idaho, the first Democrat to enter the race. She said she wanted to be a “voice of reason” in state politics: “It’s time to elect leaders who care about Idaho, not just the next campaign headline. It’s time to stop the political theater.”⁠[2]

She was unopposed in the 2022 Democratic primary but lost the general election to Republican Scott Bedke.⁠[3][4]

In Idaho’s Democratic primary for governor on May 19, 2026, Pickens led the field with about 61.42% of the unofficial vote. In announcing her campaign she had objected to the state working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICEICEICE (Intercontinental Exchange) is a US financial-market infrastructure company founded in 2000. It operates exchanges and clearing services, fixed-income and data businesses, and mortgage technology. Its businesses include the New York Stock Exchange; founder Jeffrey Sprecher is chair and CEO.Open the full entry) agents and to the private and religious school voucher program the Legislature passed the previous year. By the primary she had raised $112,759, the fourth-largest total among the gubernatorial candidates.⁠[3]

In the November 3 general election Pickens faced Republican Governor Brad Little, who was seeking a third term; the other candidates were independent John Stegner, a former Idaho Supreme Court justice, Libertarian Paul Sand and the Constitution Party’s Pro-Life.⁠[4]

In interviews with the Idaho Capital Sun in July 2026 she said she had campaigned across Idaho three times, held events in 30 counties and planned to visit all 44 before Election Day. She said she was focusing on voters aged 18 to 30 and on women concerned about bodily autonomy, and said the primary “taught me to be a better candidate.”⁠[4]

The Associated Press projected Little the winner on the night of November 3; Pickens was not elected.⁠[5]

Pickens supports the Women’s & Children’s Alliance and volunteers with CASA in Ada County. She received the Idaho State Bar’s Denise O’Donnell Day Pro Bono Award and is a graduate of Leadership Boise. She was named to Boise’s Accomplished Under 40 in 2010, was the Idaho Business Review’s Business Woman of the Year in 2012 and was a Tribute to Women in Industry honoree in 2013; her firm was a finalist for the Boise Metro Chamber’s Small Business of the Year in 2014.⁠[1]

Terri for Idaho: Official website: https://terriforidaho.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[1]

YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry: Public channel: https://www.youtube.com/@terriforidaho (opens in a new window).⁠[1]