Idaho residents will select nominees for federal, state and local positions during Tuesday’s primary elections.
These races will determine the candidates for November’s general election, where Republicans are counting on strong Idaho performance to help maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
In the U.S. Senate race, Republican incumbent Jim Risch seeks a fourth term while facing three primary opponents. Risch has significantly outpaced his challengers Joe Evans, Denny LaVe and Josh Roy in campaign fundraising as the primary campaign enters its final stretch.
Three Democrats are competing for their party’s Senate nomination: David Roth, Nickolas “007” Bonds and Brad Moore. Campaign finance records show only Roth has raised funds for his campaign, collecting approximately $7,500, though his campaign had no money remaining as of March 31. Roth previously ran as the Democratic nominee for the 2nd Congressional District in 2024 and sought the U.S. Senate seat in 2022.
For governor, Republican Brad Little is pursuing a third term against seven primary opponents, though he maintains a substantial fundraising lead. Little’s campaign had collected roughly $1.9 million and retained about $1.2 million by mid-May. His closest fundraising competitor was Mark Fitzpatrick, a bar owner and former police officer, who raised approximately $185,000 and had roughly $35,000 remaining. The other candidates lagged considerably behind in fundraising.
On the Democratic side for governor, attorney Terri Pickens leads in campaign fundraising. She ran unopposed for the party’s lieutenant governor nomination in 2022 and now faces three opponents in 2026.
Primary contests for lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state controller, state treasurer, state attorney general and state schools superintendent will also appear on ballots, though both Democratic and Republican candidates for these positions face no primary opposition.
Idaho ranks among the nation’s most consistently Republican states. In the 2024 presidential race, President Donald Trump captured approximately 67% of the vote, marking his fourth-strongest state performance after Wyoming, West Virginia and North Dakota.
The state’s last Democratic victories came in 2008 for U.S. House, 1990 for governor and 1974 for U.S. Senate.
Voting concludes at 8 p.m. local time, translating to 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. Eastern Time. Most of the state follows Mountain time with polls closing at 10 p.m. ET, while Pacific time zone areas close at 11 p.m. ET.
The Associated Press will report vote totals and announce winners in competitive primaries for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, governor, state Senate and state House positions.
Democratic primary participation is open to any registered voter regardless of party affiliation. Republican primaries are restricted to registered Republicans only. Voters can register in-person during early voting or on Election Day, and unaffiliated voters may join a party on Election Day.
Registration data from February 2 showed slightly over 1 million registered Idaho voters. Republicans comprised about 628,000, Democrats roughly 120,000, and approximately 259,000 claimed no party affiliation.
During 2022’s state primaries, Republican primary participation ranged from about 265,000 to 282,000 votes, representing roughly 27% of registered voters then. Democratic primary turnout that year spanned from about 25,000 to 33,000 votes, approximately 3% of registered voters.
Early voting comprised about 14% of Republican primary votes and roughly 29% of Democratic primary votes in 2022.
By May 12, approximately 38,000 ballots had been submitted for Tuesday’s election, including about 27,000 in the Republican primary and roughly 9,600 in the Democratic primary.
Most of Idaho’s 44 counties typically report all or nearly all early and absentee voting results in their initial evening update. About half of all counties release complete vote totals in their first report regardless of voting method.
During Idaho’s 2024 general election, the Associated Press initially reported results at 11:13 p.m. ET, just 13 minutes after final poll closure. The evening’s final update came at 6:23 a.m. ET with roughly 90% of total votes tallied.
The Associated Press does not make projections and only declares winners when no possible scenario exists for a trailing candidate to overcome the deficit. For uncalled races, the AP will report significant developments like candidate concessions or victory claims while clearly stating no winner has been declared and explaining the reasoning.
Idaho law provides no automatic recount procedures, but candidates may request and fund recounts regardless of vote margins. The state or county covers recount costs if the margin is 0.1% or less of total votes, or if the recount alters the outcome. The AP may declare winners in races subject to potential recounts if the lead appears too substantial for recounts or legal challenges to change results.
Tuesday marks 168 days until the 2026 midterm elections.
