Representative Lauren Necochea Contact information

Lauren Necochea, born Lauren Bentley Smith, is an American politician and a member of the Democratic Party. She has been serving in the Idaho House of Representatives since 2019, representing the 19th district, which includes a portion of Boise, the state capital. Since 2022, she has also served as the chair of the Idaho Democratic Party.

Early Life and Education: Lauren was born in Boise, Idaho to Dr. Michael Smith and Susan Smith. Her father is a dentist and her mother founded the Idaho Women’s Charitable Foundation. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Pomona College and a Master of Arts in public affairs from Princeton University. Lauren was the recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship.

Career: After earning her master’s degree, Lauren worked as a program evaluator for the Baltimore City Health Department. She later returned to Boise and worked as the director of the Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy and Idaho Voices for Children. Lauren was on the steering committee for the Idahoans for Healthcare campaign, which supported the 2018 Proposition 2 campaign to expand Medicaid in Idaho.

Political Career: In December 2019, Lauren was appointed to the Idaho House of Representatives by Governor Brad Little, succeeding Mat Erpelding, who resigned from the House to take a lobbying position. She was elected in the 2020 and 2022 House of Representatives elections. In March 2022, she was elected chair of the Idaho Democratic Party, replacing acting chair Deborah Silver. In February 2024, Lauren announced that she will not run for re-election and will focus on being chair of the Idaho Democratic Party.

Personal Life: In 2006, Lauren married Alejandro José Necochea, a Yale School of Medicine-educated internal physician. Lauren lives in Boise, Idaho with her husband and their two daughters.