The record Idaho's "press" won't keep.
The May 19 primary results are in. See who voters held accountable -- and where we still have work to do. Nine incumbent Republican legislators lost. Brad Little survived with 59% -- but 41% of Idaho Republicans voted against him. Every vote is on the record.
Little won. But the headline isn't that he won -- it's that nearly 100,000 Idaho Republicans voted against the incumbent governor endorsed by President Trump. Fitzpatrick alone pulled 68,546 votes, more than any single challenger in Little's 2022 primary.
The opposition vote was split eight ways. Had conservatives consolidated behind one challenger, the math looks different. That's the work that remains.
Little advances to face Democrat Terri Pickens in November. In a state where Republicans have won every statewide race since 2002, that general election is not the real contest. The real contest was today. He survived it.
Brad Little raised $1.84 million to win 59% of his own party against seven underfunded challengers. His nearest opponent, Mark Fitzpatrick, raised $184,000 -- a 10:1 money disadvantage. But the money story doesn't end with how much he raised. It ends with where it went.
In 2022, roughly 75% of Little's campaign money left Idaho entirely -- paid to Washington DC and Salt Lake City operatives. The corporations and industries that funded him received policy in return. The 2026 expenditure filings certify June 9. This section will update with confirmed 2026 spending when those records are available.
| Out-of-State Vendors -- 2022 Cycle | ||
| FP1 Strategies -- Arlington, VA TV/broadcast ads. RGA's preferred firm. Also works Ducey, Gianforte, Lombardo. Led by former RNC officials Terry Nelson and Danny Diaz (ex-Jeb Bush campaign, RNC Communications Director). |
$1,300,000 | OUT OF STATE |
| Arena Mail & Digital -- Salt Lake City, UT Digital ads and direct mail attacks against McGeachin. |
$73,000+ | OUT OF STATE |
| September Group LLC -- Salt Lake City, UT Door-to-door canvassing operation. |
$57,000 | OUT OF STATE |
| Confirmed out-of-state spend (2022) | ~$1,430,000 | ~75% of total |
| Donors with Direct Policy Returns | |
| CoreCivic -- Private prison company Holds Idaho DOC contract housing up to 1,200 Idaho male inmates in Arizona. Little signed 287(g) ICE transport order funneling detainees through system CoreCivic benefits from. Company lobbying Trump admin for $300M+ in new ICE contracts nationally. |
$1,000 |
| Micron Technology Little signed SB1211 -- direct taxpayer subsidy to Micron for $15B Boise fab expansion. Contribution predates the signing. |
$5,000 |
| Idaho Potato Growers PAC Ag industry that depends on immigrant labor pipeline. Little talks border enforcement publicly but has never disrupted the ag workforce supply chain. |
$5,000 |
| UnitedHealth Group Nation's largest health insurer. Idaho Medicaid expansion under Little's watch. |
$5,000 |
| Melaleuca -- Idaho Falls Recurring Little donor across multiple cycles. |
$5,000 |
| Coeur d'Alene Tribe Gaming compact negotiations under Little administration. |
$2,500 |
| The Chobani / Dairy Angle | |
| Chobani built the world's largest yogurt plant in Twin Falls in 2012, actively recruits refugees as workers, and partnered with the College of Southern Idaho Refugee Center. The state awarded Chobani $25 million in tax incentives during the Little era. Little praised Chobani publicly and attended events. The Idaho dairy industry openly depends on immigrant and undocumented labor -- the Idaho Dairymen's Association has lobbied for immigration "stability." Little performs immigration enforcement for optics while protecting the ag-industry donors who need the labor pipeline intact. No direct Chobani campaign contribution confirmed -- the benefit flows through tax incentives and policy non-action, not a check. | |
| The IACI Machine | |
| Little chaired the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry for 20 years before becoming governor. His chief of staff came from IACI. IACI endorses candidates in primary races to remove liberty/conservative legislators. Little vetoes legislation IACI opposes and signs legislation IACI supports -- near 100% alignment across his term. IACI and Little's PACs fund the same challengers against conservative incumbents. | |
Nine Republican incumbents lost their primary bids. Five were members of the "Gang of Eight," a conservative bloc that pushed hard for spending cuts and immigration enforcement. Several of those losses came in Magic Valley agricultural districts where farm groups were unhappy with their immigration enforcement positions -- a sign that the spending-cut coalition had limits outside North Idaho.
Notable: Scott Herndon defeated Sen. Jim Woodward again in North Idaho, reversing Woodward's 2022 win. Herndon and Woodward have traded this seat twice now.
| Incumbent | District | Challenger | Result | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rep. Steven Miller (Budget Committee Vice Chair) | Magic Valley | Chance Requa (1st) / William Mostoller (2nd) | Lost | 3rd of 3 -- 31.6% |
| Rep. Lucas Cayler | Canyon County | Debbie Geyer | Lost | 53.3% -- 46.7% |
| Rep. Tanya Burgoyne | Eastern Idaho | Jennifer Miles | Lost | 50.6% -- 49.4% (40 votes) |
| Rep. Zuiderveld | Magic Valley | Brent D. Reinke | Lost | 60.1% -- 39.9% |
| Rep. Kohl | Magic Valley | Casey Swensen | Lost | 57.9% -- 42.1% |
| Rep. Thompson | TBD | Brian Beckley | Lost | 59.1% -- 40.9% |
| Sen. Jim Woodward | North Idaho (Dist. 5) | Scott Herndon | Lost | Herndon wins rematch |
| Rep. Leavitt (Gang of Eight) | Magic Valley | TBD | Lost | Pending full results |
| Rep. Barbara Ehardt | Idaho Falls (Dist. 33A) | Connor Cook | Survived | 51.6% -- less than 200 votes |
Little advances to face Democrat Terri Pickens in November. Idaho has not elected a Democrat to statewide office since 2002. The general election outcome is not in doubt. The primary was the real contest.
All 105 seats in the Idaho Legislature are up in November. Most Republican primaries were uncontested or produced candidates who will be heavily favored in November. The nine incumbents who lost will be replaced by their primary winners.
Congressional races: Both incumbent House Republicans (Fulcher and Simpson) survived their primaries. Sen. Jim Risch advances to face a Democrat in November.