Idaho gubernatorial election, 2018

General election

General election for Governor of Idaho

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brad Little (R)	59.8	361,661
		Paulette Jordan (D)	38.2	231,081
		Bev Boeck (L)	1.1	6,551
		Walter Bayes (Constitution Party)	1.0	5,787
		Other/Write-in votes	0.0	51

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 605,131
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Elections in Idaho, 2018

• General election: Nov. 6
• Voter registration deadline: Oct. 12
• Early voting: Oct. 22 - Nov. 2
• Absentee voting deadline: Nov. 6

• Online registration: Yes
• Same-day registration: Yes
• Voter ID: Photo ID required
• Poll times: 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

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On the ballot: U.S. House • Governor • Lt. Gov • Attorney General • Secretary of State • State executive offices • State Senate • State House • Supreme court • Appellate courts • Local judges • State ballot measures • Local ballot measures • School boards • Municipal • Recalls • Democratic primaries • Republican primaries

2022 → ← 2014
Governor of Idaho
Democratic primary Republican primary General election
Election details
Filing deadline: March 9, 2018
Primary: May 15, 2018 General: November 6, 2018 Pre-election incumbent(s): Butch Otter (Republican)
How to vote
Poll times: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voting in Idaho
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Republican Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican Inside Elections: Solid Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
Federal and state primary competitiveness State executive elections in 2018 Impact of term limits in 2018 State government trifectas State government triplexes Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2018
Idaho executive elections
Governor Lieutenant governor Attorney general Secretary of state Treasurer Controller Superintendent of public instruction

Idaho held an election for governor on November 6, 2018. The candidate filing deadline was March 9, 2018.

For more information about the Democratic primary, click here.
For more information about the Republican primary, click here.

For more information about gubernatorial elections in 2018, click here.

SETTING THE STAGE

Heading into the election, the sitting governor was Butch Otter (R), who was first elected to the post in 2006 and re-elected in 2010 and 2014. Otter declined to run for re-election.

Heading into the election, Idaho was a Republican trifecta. It had held this status since former Gov. Phil Batt (R) took office in 1995. Idaho was also a Republican triplex.

Idaho was won by the Republican candidate in each of the past five presidential elections. The widest margin of victory was George W. Bush's 40 percent margin in 2000 while the narrowest was John McCain's 25 percent margin in 2008.

Idaho was one of 36 states that held an election for governor in 2018. Democrats gained seven previously Republican-held seats, and Republicans gained one previously independent-held seat. Heading into the 2018 elections, there were 16 Democratic governors, 33 Republican governors, and one independent governor. In 2018, 26 of the 33 states with a Republican governor held a gubernatorial election, while nine out of the 16 states with a Democratic governor held a gubernatorial election. Seventeen of the 36 seats up for election were open seats (four Democratic, 12 Republican, and one independent), meaning that the sitting governor was not seeking re-election. Click here for more information on other 2018 gubernatorial elections.

Candidates and election results

See also: Statistics on gubernatorial candidates, 2018

General election

General election for Governor of Idaho

Brad Little defeated Paulette Jordan, Bev Boeck, and Walter Bayes in the general election for Governor of Idaho on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brad Little (R)	59.8	361,661
		Paulette Jordan (D)	38.2	231,081
		Bev Boeck (L)	1.1	6,551
		Walter Bayes (Constitution Party)	1.0	5,787
		Other/Write-in votes	0.0	51

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 605,131
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Idaho

Paulette Jordan defeated A.J. Balukoff and Peter Dill in the Democratic primary for Governor of Idaho on May 15, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Paulette Jordan	58.4	38,505
		A.J. Balukoff	40.1	26,423
		Peter Dill	1.4	954

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 65,882
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of Idaho

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Governor of Idaho on May 15, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brad Little	37.3	72,548
		Raúl Labrador	32.6	63,478
		Tommy Ahlquist	26.2	51,008
		Lisa Marie	1.7	3,397
		Steven Pankey	1.4	2,704
		Harley Brown	0.4	874
		Ben Cannady	0.3	527

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 194,536
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Context of the 2018 election

Race rating

Race ratings: Idaho gubernatorial election, 2018
Race tracker	Race ratings
	November 5, 2018	October 30, 2018	October 23, 2018	October 16, 2018
The Cook Political Report	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican
Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every two weeks throughout the election season.

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

Idaho Governor, 2018
Poll	Brad Little (R)	Paulette Jordan (D)	Third-party candidate	Unsure	Margin of error	Sample size
Idaho Voices for Change Now (July 12-15, 2018)	38%	28%	7%	26%	+/-2.77	1,061
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected].

Idaho Governor, 2018
Poll	Raul Labrador	Brad Little	Tommy Ahlquist	Lisa Marie	Lawrence Wasden	Undecided/Other	Margin of error	Sample size
Idaho Politics Weekly (November 8-15, 2017)	17%	21%	14%	4%	4%	41%	+/-3.94	619
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected].

Republican winning streak

See also: Winning streaks in 2018 gubernatorial elections

Little's victory in the general election was the seventh in a series beginning with Philip Batt's (R) victory in 1994, continuing a record-long Republican winning streak in Idaho elections. The longest Democratic winning streak in state history was six elections, occurring between 1970 and 1990.

Wave election analysis

See also: Wave elections (1918-2016)

The term wave election is frequently used to describe an election cycle in which one party makes significant electoral gains. How many seats would Republicans have had to lose for the 2018 midterm election to be considered a wave election?

Ballotpedia examined the results of the 50 election cycles that occurred between 1918 and 2016—spanning from President Woodrow Wilson's (D) second midterm in 1918 to Donald Trump's (R) first presidential election in 2016. We define wave elections as the 20 percent of elections in that period resulting in the greatest seat swings against the president's party.

Applying this definition to gubernatorial elections, we found that Republicans needed to lose seven seats for 2018 to qualify as a wave election.

The chart below shows the number of seats the president's party lost in the 11 gubernatorial waves from 1918 to 2016. Click here to read the full report.

Gubernatorial wave elections
Year	President	Party	Election type	Gubernatorial seats change	Elections analyzed
1970	Nixon	R	First midterm	-12	35
1922	Harding	R	First midterm	-11	33
1932	Hoover	R	Presidential	-10	35
1920	Wilson	D	Presidential	-10	36
1994	Clinton	D	First midterm	-10	36
1930	Hoover	R	First midterm	-9	33
1938	Roosevelt	D	Second midterm	-9	33
1966	Johnson	D	First midterm	-9	35
1954	Eisenhower	R	First midterm	-8	33
1982	Reagan	R	First midterm	-7	36
2010	Obama	D	First midterm	-7	33

State overview

Partisan control

This section details the partisan control of federal and state positions in Idaho heading into the 2018 elections.

Congressional delegation

• Republicans held both U.S. Senate seats in Idaho.
• Republicans held two of the two U.S. House seats in Idaho.

State executives

• As of May 2018, Republicans held seven of 14 state executive positions; the other seven were nonpartisan offices.
• Heading into the 2018 election, the sitting governor of Idaho was Butch Otter (R).

State legislature

• Republicans controlled both chambers of the Idaho State Legislature. They had a 59-11 majority in the state House and a 29-6 majority in the state Senate.

Trifecta status

Idaho was a Republican trifecta, meaning that the Republican Party held the governorship, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House.

2018 elections

See also: Idaho elections, 2018

Idaho held elections for the following offices in 2018:

• U.S. House
• Governor
• Six lower state executive offices
• State Senate
• State House
• State Supreme Court
• Intermediate appellate courts
• Local judges
• School boards
• Municipal elections

Demographics

Demographic data for Idaho
	Idaho	U.S.
Total population:	1,652,828	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	82,643	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	91.7%	73.6%
Black/African American:	0.6%	12.6%
Asian:	1.3%	5.1%
Native American:	1.3%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0.1%	0.2%
Two or more:	2.6%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	11.8%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	89.5%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	25.9%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$47,583	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	16.9%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Idaho. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

As of July 2017, Idaho had a population of approximately 1,716,943 people, and its three largest cities were Boise (pop. est. 223,154), Meridian (pop. est. 95,623), and Nampa (pop. est. 91,382).

State election history

This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Idaho from 2000 to 2016.

Historical elections

Presidential elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the presidential election in Idaho every year from 2000 to 2016.

Election results (President of the United States), Idaho 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2016	Donald Trump	59.26%	Hillary Clinton	27.49%	31.77%
2012	Mitt Romney	64.53%	Barack Obama	32.62%	31.91%
2008	John McCain	61.52%	Barack Obama	36.09%	25.43%
2004	George W. Bush	68.38%	John Kerry	30.26%	38.12%
2000	George W. Bush	67.17%	Al Gore	27.64%	39.53%

U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in Idaho from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.

Election results (U.S. Senator), Idaho 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2016	Mike Crapo	66.13%	Jerry Sturgill	27.73%	38.40%
2014	Jim Risch	65.33%	Nels Mitchell	34.67%	30.66%
2010	Mike Crapo	71.18%	Tom Sullivan	24.93%	46.25%
2008	Jim Risch	57.65%	Larry LaRocco	34.11%	23.54%
2004	Mike Crapo	99.18%	Scott McClure	0.82%	98.36%
2002	Larry Craig	65.16%	Allan Blinken	32.55%	32.61%

Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2014

This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2014. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in Idaho.

Election results (Governor), Idaho 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2014	C. L. 'Butch' Otter	53.52%	A. J. Balukoff	38.55%	14.97%
2010	C. L. 'Butch' Otter	59.11%	Keith Allred	32.85%	26.26%
2006	C. L. 'Butch' Otter	52.67%	Jerry Brady	44.11%	8.56%
2002	C. Dirk Kempthorne	56.28%	Jerry Brady	41.73%	14.55%

Trifectas, 1992-2017

A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.

Idaho Party Control: 1992-2024
No Democratic trifectas  •  Thirty years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24
Governor	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
Senate	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
House	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties by state

No counties in Idaho are Pivot Counties. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won Idaho with 59.3 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton (D) received 27.5 percent. Independent candidate Evan McMullin received 6.7 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Idaho voted Republican 70 percent of the time and Democratic 30 percent of the time. In the five presidential elections between 2000 and 2016, Idaho voted Republican all five times.

Presidential results by legislative district

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Idaho. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.

In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 4 out of 35 state House districts in Idaho with an average margin of victory of 13.5 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 4 out of 35 state House districts in Idaho with an average margin of victory of 17 points.

In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 31 out of 35 state House districts in Idaho with an average margin of victory of 38.6 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 31 out of 35 state House districts in Idaho with an average margin of victory of 39 points. Trump won three seats controlled by Democrats heading into the 2018 elections.

2016 presidential results by state House district
District	Obama	Romney	2012 Margin	Clinton	Trump	2016 Margin
1	33.87%	62.34%	R+28.5	26.01%	65.46%	R+39.5
2	26.93%	70.62%	R+43.7	20.64%	71.95%	R+51.3
3	29.14%	68.14%	R+39	21.06%	70.57%	R+49.5
4	39.16%	57.97%	R+18.8	32.30%	58.13%	R+25.8
5	45.88%	49.34%	R+3.5	39.67%	46.41%	R+6.7
6	37.09%	60.34%	R+23.3	27.14%	63.35%	R+36.2
7	30.10%	66.90%	R+36.8	19.98%	72.55%	R+52.6
8	29.55%	67.36%	R+37.8	21.50%	69.20%	R+47.7
9	25.68%	71.70%	R+46	17.21%	74.09%	R+56.9
10	38.47%	58.37%	R+19.9	29.81%	58.12%	R+28.3
11	23.55%	73.82%	R+50.3	17.04%	72.09%	R+55.1
12	31.70%	65.46%	R+33.8	24.33%	62.75%	R+38.4
13	30.45%	66.85%	R+36.4	25.08%	62.48%	R+37.4
14	28.40%	69.37%	R+41	25.20%	62.69%	R+37.5
15	40.27%	56.38%	R+16.1	36.12%	49.48%	R+13.4
16	51.36%	45.03%	D+6.3	47.20%	39.26%	D+7.9
17	54.87%	40.25%	D+14.6	48.92%	35.61%	D+13.3
18	50.74%	45.74%	D+5	49.32%	37.45%	D+11.9
19	62.17%	34.02%	D+28.2	61.76%	27.06%	D+34.7
20	31.96%	65.66%	R+33.7	27.79%	57.58%	R+29.8
21	33.56%	63.72%	R+30.2	29.26%	57.07%	R+27.8
22	28.40%	68.66%	R+40.3	21.33%	65.07%	R+43.7
23	27.41%	69.63%	R+42.2	18.40%	72.24%	R+53.8
24	30.28%	66.54%	R+36.3	24.58%	61.74%	R+37.2
25	23.52%	73.82%	R+50.3	17.71%	70.40%	R+52.7
26	45.05%	52.29%	R+7.2	42.82%	47.54%	R+4.7
27	16.19%	81.96%	R+65.8	14.64%	72.01%	R+57.4
28	31.76%	66.06%	R+34.3	25.38%	57.30%	R+31.9
29	43.30%	53.10%	R+9.8	36.52%	46.08%	R+9.6
30	19.06%	78.92%	R+59.9	17.63%	62.15%	R+44.5
31	21.71%	76.35%	R+54.6	17.59%	65.61%	R+48
32	17.05%	81.10%	R+64.1	17.13%	65.98%	R+48.9
33	30.56%	66.37%	R+35.8	26.72%	54.03%	R+27.3
34	6.92%	92.00%	R+85.1	8.01%	59.90%	R+51.9
35	12.96%	85.32%	R+72.4	9.79%	72.97%	R+63.2
Total	32.62%	64.53%	R+31.9	27.49%	59.26%	R+31.8
Source: Daily Kos

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Idaho governor election 2018. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Idaho gubernatorial election, 2018 - Google News

See also

Idaho government:

• Idaho state executive offices
• Idaho State Legislature
• Idaho courts

Elections:

• Idaho state executive official elections, 2018
• Gubernatorial elections, 2018
• Lieutenant gubernatorial elections, 2018
• Attorney General elections, 2018
• Secretary of State elections, 2018
• State executive official elections, 2018, 2017, 2016

Ballotpedia exclusives:

• State executives compensation
• State of the state addresses
• Trifecta control of state government

External links

Suggest a link

• Governor of Idaho official website