Risch Faces Three Challengers in Idaho Election Results Primary
Idaho election results on Tuesday begin with Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Risch, who is facing three primary challengers as he seeks a fourth term. Voters are choosing nominees for federal, state and local offices before the November general election.
Polls close at 8 p.m. local time, which is 10 p.m. ET in most of the state and 11 p.m. ET in the Pacific time zone. Registered voters can participate in the Democratic primary regardless of party registration, while only registered Republicans may vote in the Republican primary.
Jim Risch and David Roth
Risch’s challengers are Joe Evans, Denny LaVe and Josh Roy. On the Democratic side, David Roth, Nickolas “007” Bonds and Brad Moore are competing for the Senate nomination, and Roth is the only candidate in that race who had reported raising money, about $7,500, while his campaign was out of funds as of March 31.
Roth was the Democratic nominee for the 2nd Congressional District in 2024 and for U.S. Senate in 2022. Idaho last elected a Democrat for U.S. Senate in 1974, a gap that frames the Senate race as party leaders try to build toward November in a state that gave about 67% of its presidential vote to Donald Trump in 2024.
Brad Little and Terri Pickens
Republican Gov. Brad Little faces seven competitors in his run for a third term. By mid-May, Little’s campaign had raised about $1.9 million and had about $1.2 million in the bank, while Mark Fitzpatrick had raised about $185,000 and had about $35,000 in the bank.
Terri Pickens leads the Democratic field for governor in fundraising and faces three other candidates in 2026. Pickens ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor in 2022, and Idaho last elected a Democrat for governor in 1990.
Idaho statewide primaries
Primaries for lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state controller, state treasurer, state attorney general and state schools superintendent are also on the ballot. The Democratic and Republican candidates for those offices are running unopposed, which leaves the Senate and governor races as the main contests where voters will choose among multiple names.
As of Feb. 2, Idaho had a little more than 1 million registered voters, including about 628,000 Republicans, about 120,000 Democrats and about 259,000 unaffiliated voters. Eligible voters may register in person at the polls during the early voting period or on Election Day, and unaffiliated voters may affiliate with a party on Election Day.
The vote sets up the November general election in a state that last elected a Democrat for U.S. House in 2008, for governor in 1990 and for U.S. Senate in 1974. In the contested primaries for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, governor, state Senate and state House, the results will determine which names advance to the fall ballot.
