Idaho primaries Tuesday set up tight November stakes

Idaho primaries – Idaho voters head to the polls Tuesday to choose candidates for federal, state, and local offices. With Republicans dominant in the state’s recent presidential voting, the outcomes in contests like U.S. Senate and governor are positioned to shape expectations

Idaho voters are set to pick nominees in a statewide primary Tuesday for federal, state and local offices, with the results expected to flow into November’s general election.

Republicans are counting on strong performances in Idaho to help preserve control of the U.S.. Senate and the U.S.. House.. In the state’s most watched contest, Republican U.S.. Sen.. Jim Risch is facing three primary challengers as he seeks a fourth term.. The incumbent. Joe Evans. Denny LaVe. and Josh Roy all entered the final weeks of the primary with different fundraising numbers. with Risch having eclipsed Evans. LaVe and Roy in fundraising heading into those final weeks.

Risch’s Democratic primary challengers are David Roth, Nickolas “007” Bonds and Brad Moore.. Only Roth has reported raising any money for his campaign—about $7. 500—but federal campaign finance records show Roth’s campaign was out of funds as of March 31.. Roth was the Democratic nominee in the 2nd Congressional District in 2024 and for U.S.. Senate in 2022.

For governor, Republican Gov.. Brad Little faces a larger field of seven competitors while still holding a wide financial lead.. By mid-May, Little’s campaign had raised about $1.9 million and had about $1.2 million in the bank.. His nearest competitor is bar owner and former police officer Mark Fitzpatrick. who raised about $185. 000 and had about $35. 000 in the bank.. The rest of the field trailed far behind.

Democratic fundraising leads in the governor’s race as Attorney Terri Pickens is at the front of the Democratic field for governor in fundraising. She was unopposed for the party nomination when she ran for lieutenant governor in 2022 and now faces three other candidates in 2026.

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.

Idaho has been one of the most reliably Republican states in the country.. President Donald Trump received about 67% of the vote in the 2024 presidential election. his fourth-best state performance behind Wyoming. West Virginia and North Dakota.. The state last elected a Democrat for U.S.. House in 2008, for governor in 1990 and for U.S.. Senate in 1974.

Polls close at 8 p.m. local time, which is 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET. Most of the state observes Mountain time and closes at 10 p.m. ET, while polls in Pacific time close at 11 p.m. ET.

The contests are expected to determine nominees for U.S.. Senate, U.S.. House, governor, state Senate and state House.. Voting rules allow any registered voter to participate in the Democratic primary regardless of party registration.. Only registered Republicans may vote in the Republican primary.. Eligible voters may register in-person at the polls during the early voting period or on Election Day.. Unaffiliated voters may affiliate with a party on Election Day.

As of Feb. 2, there were a little more than 1 million registered voters in Idaho. About 628,000 were Republicans, about 120,000 were Democrats and about 259,000 were not affiliated with any party.

In terms of turnout, the 2022 state primaries showed wide gaps between party turnout levels.. Total votes in Republican primaries ranged from about 265,000 to 282,000 votes—about 27% of registered voters at the time.. Total votes in Democratic primaries that year ranged from about 25,000 to 33,000 votes, roughly 3% of registered voters.

About 14% of the Republican primary vote and about 29% of the Democratic primary vote were cast before primary day in 2022.

As of May 12, about 38,000 ballots had already been cast in Tuesday’s election, including about 27,000 in the Republican primary and about 9,600 in the Democratic primary.

Nearly all of Idaho’s 44 counties tend to release all or almost all their early and absentee voting results in the first vote update of the night. About half of all counties release all their vote results in the first vote update regardless of how they were cast.

How quickly results arrive can also be shaped by Idaho’s historical pace. In the 2024 general election, the first results were reported at 11:13 p.m. ET—13 minutes after the final polls closed. The last vote update of the night was at 6:23 a.m. ET with about 90% of total votes counted.

The Associated Press does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow a trailing candidate to close the gap.. If a race has not been called. coverage continues for newsworthy developments such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. with clear explanations when a winner has not yet been declared.

There are no automatic recounts in Idaho.. A candidate may request and pay for one regardless of vote margin.. The state or county pays for the recount if the vote margin is 0.1% of the total vote margin or less or if the recount changes the outcome.. The Associated Press may declare a winner in a race that is subject to a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.

As votes are tallied, the stakes stretch beyond Tuesday’s contests: as of Tuesday, there will be 168 days until the 2026 midterm elections.

The schedule of ballot reporting and the timing rules create a clear pattern for how quickly the night could turn: polls close at 8 p.m.. local time. counties typically release early and absentee results in the first vote update. the first vote count in the 2024 general election arrived at 11:13 p.m.. ET, and the final update that year came at 6:23 a.m.. ET with about 90% of total votes counted.

Idaho primaries Jim Risch Brad Little U.S. Senate governor race state primary election rules vote counting early ballots recounts