Eight incumbent Idaho Republican legislators lost their re-election bids in the primary election Tuesday, including several who pushed to cut government spending, according to unofficial election results.
The election comes on the heels of a legislative session marked by steep spending cuts to avoid a budget shortfall.
Five members of the Idaho Legislature’s Gang of Eight, a conservative group of lawmakers that vowed to support spending cuts, lost their Republican primary elections, the unofficial election results show. The Gang of Eight members who lost are: Sens. Glenneda Zuiderveld and Josh Kohl, as well as Reps. Lucas Cayler, Faye Thompson, and David Leavitt.
Three other members of the Gang of Eight also won their primary races: Reps. Elaine Price of Coeur d'Alene, Clint Hostetler and Kent Marmon, according to the unofficial results.
Here’s how those races broke down:
- Zuiderveld’s race: Challenger Brent D. Reinke, the former Idaho Department of Correction director, won 60.14% of the vote, or 6,006 total votes, while Zuiderveld had 39.86%, or 3,981 total votes.
- Kohl’s race: Challenger Casey Swensen won 57.87% of the vote, or 3,429 votes, while Kohl received 42.13% of the vote, or 2,496 votes.
- Cayler’s race: Debbie Geyer won 53.28% of the vote, or 1,665 total votes. Cayler received 46.72%, or 1,460 votes cast.
- Thompson’s race: Challenger Brian Beckley won 59.13% of the vote, or 4,741 votes, while Thompson received 40.87% of the vote, or 3,277 votes.
- Leavitt’s race: Challenger Cherie Vollmer won 55.21% of the vote, or 3,229 votes, while Leavitt received 44.79% of the vote, or 2,620 votes.
Rep. Tanya Burgoyne also lost in eastern Idaho, according to the unofficial results. The other legislative incumbents who lost were Rep. Mark Sauter, R-Sandpoint, Rep. Tanya Burgoyne and Sen. Jim Woodward, R-Sagle, who lost to former legislator Scott Herndon, according to the unofficial results.
- Burgoyne’s race: Challenger Jennifer Miles won 50.56% of the vote, or 1,814 votes, while Burgoyne received 49.44% of the vote, or 1,774 votes.
- Sauter’s race: Challenger Jane Sauter was winning early Wednesday morning with 53.88% of the vote, or 6,361 votes, over incumbent Mark Sauter, who received 46.12% of the vote, or 5,445 votes.
- Woodward’s race: Herndon retook his former state Senate seat with 53.39% of the vote, or 8,182 votes, while Woodward received 46.61% of the vote, or 7,142 votes.
The Legislature’s budget committee vice chair, Rep. Steve Miller, lost his re-election bid in a three-way primary to Chance Requa, the unofficial results show.
But some incumbent legislators in closely watched races were successful.
Sen. Jim Guthrie, the chairman of the powerful Senate State Affairs Committee, won his primary election with 53.28% of the vote, or 3,905 votes, over Republican challenger David Worley, who had 46.72% of the vote, or 3,424 votes, the unofficial results show.
Rep. Barbara Ehardt, an influential Republican from Idaho Falls, won her primary challenge with 51.59% of the vote, or 2,449 votes, over challenger Connor Cook, who got 48.41% of the vote, or 2,298 votes, the unofficial results show.
Rep. Ben Fuhriman of Shelley won his primary election over former state legislator Julianne Young. Unofficial results showed Fuhriman had received 53.65% of the vote, or 3,966 votes, over Young’s 46.35% of the vote, or 3,427 votes.
Sen. Dan Foreman, a Republican in Moscow, also won his primary election over Rep. Lori McCann, a Republican lawmaker who sought his Senate seat, unofficial results show. Foreman won with 52.71% of the vote, or 4,243 votes, over McCann’s 47.29% of the vote, or 3,806 votes.
The election results will not become official until they are certified by the Idaho State Board of Canvassers on June 9.
Republican incumbents retained party nomination in governor, congressional races
This year, all 105 seats in the Idaho Legislature are up for election, along with congressional seats and statewide constitutional offices. But no statewide constitutional officers besides the governor faced Republican primary challengers. Two-term Gov. Brad Little won an eight-way primary election Tuesday, and Idaho’s incumbent congressional Republicans all fended off challengers.
As of 2 a.m. Wednesday, the Secretary of State’s Office reported that of the 1,031,196 voters who were eligible to vote in Idaho, 307,494 residents voted, or 29.82%.
Primary elections, when party nominees are chosen, often don’t drive as much turnout as general elections, when people officially win races for public office. But McGrane said he expected to see some legislative districts with higher turnout.
“There hasn’t been the attention from the candidates and the campaigns in a lot of regions. So for those that reason alone, I expect turnout to not be as high in parts of the state. But in those areas where there are competitive races, I’m anticipating it will be above average. So, it’s reflective of the activity on the ballot,” he said.
Democrats ran in all Idaho legislative districts, statewide and federal seats
Many of those legislative candidates will face Democrats in the November general election.
This year, at least one Democrat ran in each of Idaho’s 35 legislative districts, for each statewide constitutional office and for all federal seats on the ballot, the Idaho Democratic Party says. That’s out of the 116 Democrats who filed for statewide, federal and legislative offices this year. That’s twice the number of Democrats who ran in Idaho in 2022, when just 58 ran, and up by dozens compared to 2024, when 89 ran, the Democratic Party said.
Idaho Capital Sun reporters Clark Corbin and Laura Guido contributed reporting.
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