2016 Idaho elections

2016 Idaho elections

←  2014 November 8, 2016 2018  →
Registered	936,529
Turnout	75.9% [1]

A general election was scheduled in the U.S. state of Idaho on November 8, 2016. Along with the presidential election, one United States Senate seat and Idaho's two seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election, as were all the seats in both chambers of the Idaho Legislature. ^[2] Primary elections were held on May 17, 2016.

Federal offices

President of the United States

Main article: 2016 United States presidential election in Idaho

Republican candidate Donald Trump won in Idaho with 59% of the popular vote and gained four electoral votes from the state.

United States Senate

Main article: 2016 United States Senate election in Idaho

One of the two United States Senators representing Idaho was up for election. Incumbent Republican Mike Crapo was re-elected to a fourth term with 66% of the votes.

United States House of Representatives

Main article: 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Idaho

Idaho has two representatives in the United States House of Representatives. Incumbent Republicans Raúl Labrador and Mike Simpson were both up for election, and they won their respective races comfortably.

Judicial elections

Supreme Court

Two seats on the Idaho Supreme Court were up for election. ^[3]

While Justice Roger Burdick ran unopposed and won a third term, Jim Jones chose not to seek re-election thus creating an open seat. ^[4]

Jones' seat

2016 Idaho Supreme Court Justice election

←  2014 November 8, 2016

Nominee Robyn Brody Curt McKenzie Party Nonpartisan Nonpartisan Popular vote 298,983 256,719 Percentage 53.80% 46.20%

Runoff results by county Brody:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% McKenzie:     50–60%     60–70%

Justice before election Jim Jones Nonpartisan Elected Justice Robyn Brody Nonpartisan

Following Jones' retirement, a four-way Nonpartisan primary election was held on May 17. ^[5] With no candidate winning a clear majority of the votes, the top two finishers advanced to a run-off on November 8, the first such instance in the state since 1998. ^[6] Rupert attorney Robyn Brody defeated state senator Curt McKenzie in the runoff with 54% of the votes. ^[7]

Nonpartisan primary

• Robyn Brody, attorney. ^[8]
• Curt McKenzie, state senator from the 13th district. ^[9]
• Clive Strong, chief of the Natural Resources Division, Idaho Attorney General’s office. ^[4]
• Sergio Gutierrez, Idaho Court of Appeals judge. ^[10]

Withdrawn

• Chris Troupis, attorney. ^[11] (endorsed McKenzie)
• William Seiniger, attorney. ^[12]

Primary dabate

2016 Idaho Supreme Court primary election debate

No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Nonpartisan	Nonpartisan	Nonpartisan	Nonpartisan
Key:  P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited  W  Withdrawn
					Robyn Brody	Clive Strong	Curt McKenzie	Sergio Gutierrez
1	May 5, 2016	IdahoPTV	Melissa Davlin	Idaho PBS	P	P	P	P

Primary results

Primary results by county:

Brody

•   50–60%
•   40–50%
•   30–40%

McKenzie

•   40–50%
•   30–40%

Gutierrez

•   30–40%
•   20–30%

Strong

•   30–40%

Nonpartisan primary results ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Robyn Brody	45,282	30.3%
	Nonpartisan	Curt McKenzie	41,348	27.6%
	Nonpartisan	Sergio Gutierrez	31,944	21.4%
	Nonpartisan	Clive Strong	30,921	20.7%
Total votes			149,495	100%

Runoff debate

2016 Idaho Supreme Court runoff election debate

No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Nonpartisan	Nonpartisan
Key:  P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited  W  Withdrawn
					Robyn Brody	Curt McKenzie
1	October 27, 2016	IdahoPTV	Melissa Davlin	Idaho PBS	P	P

Runoff results

2016 Idaho Supreme Court Justice runoff election ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Robyn Brody	298,983	53.8%
	Nonpartisan	Curt McKenzie	256,719	46.2%
Total votes			555,702	100%

Court of Appeals

Idaho Court of Appeals Judge Molly Huskey was appointed by Governor Butch Otter in 2015 to succeed Karen Lansing. ^[15] She ran for a full term and won unopposed. ^[3]

State Legislative elections

All 35 seats of the Idaho Senate and 70 seats of the Idaho House of Representatives were up for election. ^{[16] [17]}

Idaho Senate Party Before After Change Republican 28 29 1 Democratic 7 6 1 Total 35 35

Idaho House of Representatives Party Before After Change Republican 56 59 3 Democratic 14 11 3 Total 70 70

Ballot measures

One statewide ballot measure appeared on the ballot.

Constitutional Amendment HJR 5 (2016)

Results by county:

Yes

•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%

No

•   50–60%

The Idaho Constitutional Amendment HJR 5 sought to provide the state legislature a veto-proof authority to review and approve or reject administrative rules in the state constitution. It was approved 56%-44%. ^[18]

Idaho Constitutional Amendment HJR 5 (2016)

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	347,327	55.52
No	278,219	44.48
Total votes	625,546	100.00

See also

• Elections in Idaho
• Politics of Idaho
• Political party strength in Idaho

References

1. "2016 Nov 8 General Election - Voting Statistics". Idaho Secretary of State. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
2. "Idaho elections, 2016". Ballotpedia. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
3. "Idaho judicial elections, 2016". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
4. Russell, Betsy Z. (March 9, 2016). "Chief Justice Jones to retire, Clive Strong announces bid for his seat". The Spokesman-Review . Retrieved May 13, 2025.
5. Sowell, John (May 12, 2016). "4 Idaho Supreme Court hopefuls look to replace Jim Jones". Idaho Statesman . Retrieved May 13, 2025.
6. Berg, Sven (May 18, 2016). "Brody, McKenzie headed for Supreme Court runoff". Idaho Statesman . Retrieved May 13, 2025.
7. Dutton, Audrey (November 9, 2016). "Robyn Brody wins race, becoming Idaho's 3rd female Supreme Court Justice". Idaho Statesman . Retrieved May 13, 2025.
8. Russell, Betsy Z. (April 26, 2016). "Brody wants to bring a different perspective to Idaho Supreme Court". The Spokesman-Review . Retrieved May 13, 2025.
9. Cameron, Steve (September 9, 2016). "Legislator Seeks Seat on State High Court". Coeur d'Alene Press . Archived from the original on February 3, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
10. Russell, Betsy Z. (April 28, 2016). "Gutierrez runs for justice on court-access platform". The Spokesman-Review . Retrieved May 13, 2025.
11. "Troupis withdraws from Supreme Court race, endorses McKenzie". Idaho Statesman . March 21, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
12. Russell, Betsy Z. (March 22, 2016). "Seiniger withdraws from Idaho Supreme Court race". The Spokesman-Review . Retrieved May 13, 2025.
13. "Primary Election - Supreme Court Justice". canvass.sos.idaho.gov. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
14. "General Election - Supreme Court Justice". canvass.sos.idaho.gov. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
15. "3rd District judge appointed to appeals court". Idaho Press . July 3, 2015. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
16. "Idaho State Senate elections, 2016". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
17. "Idaho House of Representatives elections, 2016". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
18. "Constitutional Amendment HJR 5". canvass.sos.idaho.gov. Retrieved May 13, 2025.