Idaho congressional candidate pleads guilty to possession of child sex abuse material

The Ada County Courthouse is pictured in this file photo on Sept. 17, 2026. (Photo by Kyle Pfannenstiel/Idaho Capital Sun)The Constitution Party candidate in Idaho’s 1st Congressional District election has pleaded guilty to possessing “child sexually exploitative material.” He is still eligible for office under the U.S. Constitution. Brendan Gomez, 27, was arrested in early July by Ada County Sheriff’s Office detectives at a home in Boise, Channel 2 Idaho News reported. He was booked into the Ada County jail and held on $500,000 bail, according to the jail roster. He was charged with 10 counts of willfully possessing child sex abuse material, according to state court records. He entered a plea deal Monday, pleading guilty to two counts of possession of sexually exploitative materials. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Nov. 16, according to court records. The state recommended Gomez serve a fixed term of three years in prison, with 12 years indeterminate. Gomez’s attorney could not be immediately reached for this story. Gomez also ran for Congress in 2024, earning about 1.5% of the vote in the general election. In 2022, he ran unsuccessfully against incumbent state Sen. Lori Den Hartog to represent District 22 in the Idaho Legislature. Gomez’s name will still appear on the ballot for the Nov. 3 general election. He is running against incumbent Republican U.S. House Rep. Russ Fulcher, Democrat Kaylee Peterson, and independent Sarah Zabel. The deadline to withdraw from the ballot was Sept. 4. Under the Idaho Constitution, convicted felons are ineligible for state or local office until they fulfill their sentence, but there are no such restrictions for federal elected officials. Members of the U.S. House must be at least 25 years old, a U.S. citizen for at least seven years, and an inhabitant of the state they represent.The U.S. Constitution does not otherwise limit eligibility. Under U.S. House rules, members who are convicted of a crime with a sentence of two or more years of imprisonment “should refrain” from participating in votes and “should resign” from any committee. Idaho Capital Sun reporter Kyle Pfannenstiel contributed to this reporting. YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE. SUPPORT