2018 Idaho elections

2018 Idaho elections

←  2016 November 6, 2018 2020  →
Registered	917,612
Turnout	66.8% [1]

A general election was held in the U.S. state of Idaho on November 6, 2018. All of Idaho's executive officers were up for election as well as both of Idaho's two seats in the United States House of Representatives. Primary elections were held on May 15, 2018.

Federal offices

United States House of Representatives

Main article: 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Idaho

Both of Idaho's two seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election in 2018.

In the first congressional district, Raúl Labrador did not seek reelection and unsuccessfully ran for governor. Former state senator and fellow Republican Russ Fulcher was elected to represent the district.

In the second congressional district, Mike Simpson ran for reelection and won comfortably.

Governor

Main article: 2018 Idaho gubernatorial election

Republican governor Butch Otter was succeeded by businessman Brad Little. ^[2]

Idaho gubernatorial election, 2018 ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Brad Little	361,661	59.8%
	Democratic	Paulette Jordan	231,081	38.2%
	Libertarian	Bev Boeck	6,551	1.1%
	Constitution	Walter Bayes	5,787	1.0%
	Write-in candidate	Lisa Marie	51	0.0%
Total votes			605,131	100%

Lieutenant governor

Main article: 2018 Idaho lieutenant gubernatorial election

Incumbent Republican lieutenant governor Brad Little did not run for re-election to a third full term, and instead ran for governor. ^[4] Janice McGeachin won the election for lieutenant governor by nearly 60% following a highly contested primary.

Democratic primary

Results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kristin Collum	52,417	88.2
	Democratic	Jim Fabe	6,987	11.8
Total votes			59,404	100.0

Republican primary

Declared

• Marv Hagedorn, ^[5] state senator
• Janice McGeachin, ^[6] former state representative
• Bob Nonini, ^[7] state senator
• Kelley Packer, ^[6] state representative
• Stephen J. Yates, ^[8] former Deputy National Security Advisor to the Vice President and Republican Party (United States) Chair

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Janice McGeachin	51,098	28.9
	Republican	Stephen J. Yates	48,269	27.3
	Republican	Marv Hagedorn	26,653	15.1
	Republican	Bob Nonini	26,556	15.0
	Republican	Kelley Packer	24,513	13.8
Total votes			177,089	100.0

General election

Results

Idaho lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Janice McGeachin	356,512	59.7%
	Democratic	Kristin Collum	240,355	40.3%
Total votes			596,867	100%

Attorney general

Incumbent Republican attorney general Lawrence Wasden won re-election to a fifth term. ^[9]

County results
Wasden:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%
Bistline:     50–60%     60–70%

Democratic primary

Results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bruce S. Bistline	47,637	100.0
Total votes			47,637	100.0

Republican primary

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Lawrence Wasden (incumbent)	157,064	100.0
Total votes			157,064	100.0

General election

Governing magazine projected the race as "safe Republican". ^[10]

Results

Idaho Attorney General election, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Lawrence Wasden (incumbent)	384,791	65.4%
	Democratic	Bruce Bistline	203,283	34.6%
Total votes			588,074	100%

Secretary of state

2018 Idaho Secretary of State election

←  2014 November 6, 2018 2022  →

Nominee Lawerence Denney Jill Humble Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 370,654 222,073 Percentage 62.5% 37.5%

County results Congressional district results Denney:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90% Humble:     50–60%     60–70%

Secretary of State before election Lawerence Denney Republican Elected Secretary of State Lawerence Denney Republican

Incumbent Republican secretary of state Lawerence Denney won re-election to a second term. ^[11]

Democratic primary

Results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jill Humble	42,611	74.8
	Democratic	Joseph Chastain	14,361	25.2
Total votes			56,972	100.0

Republican primary

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Lawerence Denney (incumbent)	157,014	100.0
Total votes			157,014	100.0

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Governing magazine [10]	Safe R	June 4, 2018

Results

Idaho Secretary of State election, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Lawerence Denney (incumbent)	370,654	62.5%
	Democratic	Jill Humble	222,073	37.5%
Total votes			592,727	100%

Treasurer

Primary results by county:

  Ellsworth

•   30–40%
•   40–50%
•   50–60%

  Kealey

•   30–40%

  McIntyre

•   30–40%

Incumbent Republican state treasurer Ron Crane did not run for re-election to a sixth term. ^[12] No Democrats filed to run for this race. Julie Ellsworth won the election unopposed.

Republican primary

Declared

• Julie Ellsworth, former state representative
• Tom Kealey, ^[13] Chicago Connection Restaurant Group owner and former certified public accountant
• Vicky McIntyre, ^[14] Ada County Treasurer

Debate

2018 Idaho treasurer election Republican primary candidate debate

No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Republican	Republican	Republican
Key:  P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited  W  Withdrawn
					Julie Ellsworth	Tom Kealey	Vicky McIntyre
1 [15]	Apr. 19, 2018		Melissa Davlin	Cascade PBS	P	P	P

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Julie A. Ellsworth	60,482	36.8
	Republican	Tom Kealey	55,657	33.8
	Republican	Vicky J. McIntyre	48,310	29.4
Total votes			164,449	100.0

General election

Results

Results by county

Idaho State Treasurer election, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Julie Ellsworth	465,109	100%
Total votes			465,109	100%
	Republican hold

Controller

Incumbent Republican Controller Brandon D. Woolf won re-election to a second full term. He was unopposed in the general election because no Democrats filed to challenge him.

Republican primary

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Brandon D. Woolf (incumbent)	154,375	100.0
Total votes			154,375	100.0

General election

Results

Results by county

Idaho State Controller election, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Brandon D. Woolf	465,109	100%
Total votes			465,109	100%
	Republican hold

Superintendent of public instruction

2018 Idaho Superintendent of public instruction election

←  2014 November 6, 2018 2022  →

Nominee Sherri Ybarra Cindy Wilson Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 305,977 288,488 Percentage 51.5% 48.5%

County results Congressional district results Precinct results Ybarra:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% Wilson:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90%

Superintendent before election Sherri Ybarra Republican Elected Superintendent Sherri Ybarra Republican

Incumbent Republican superintendent of public instruction Sherri Ybarra narrowly won re-election to a second term. ^[16]

Wilder School Superintendent Jeff Dillon filed to run in the Republican primary on April 29, 2017. ^[17]

Democratic primary

Results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Cindy Wilson	49,565	74.8
	Democratic	Allen Humble	8,051	25.2
Total votes			57,616	100.0

Republican primary

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Sherri Ybarra (incumbent)	103,071	58.9
	Republican	Jeff Dillon	71,856	41.1
Total votes			174,927	100.0

General election

Results

Idaho superintendent of public instruction election, 2018 ^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Sherri Ybarra (incumbent)	305,977	51.5%
	Democratic	Cindy Wilson	288,488	48.5%
Total votes			594,465	100%

Ballot measures

Two statewide ballot measures appeared on the ballot.

Proposition 1

Main article: 2018 Idaho Proposition 1

If approved, Proposition 1 would have authorized the usage of video terminals to for betting on historical horse races. It was defeated 54%-46%.

Proposition 2

Main article: 2018 Idaho Proposition 2

Idaho Proposition 2 was an initiative to expand Medicaid to those under sixty-five years old in the state. It was approved 61%-39%.

See also

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

References

1. "2018 Nov 6 General Election - Voting Statistics". Idaho Secretary of State. Retrieved May 12, 2025.
2. Russell, Betsy Z. (October 14, 2014). "Otter on running for 4th term: 'If I did, I'd be running as a bachelor, my wife told me'". The Spokesman-Review . Retrieved July 7, 2016.
3. "Nov 04, 2014 General Election Results". Idaho Secretary of State. Archived from the original on December 1, 2014. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
4. Dentzer, Bill (June 28, 2016). "Brad Little, Idaho's governor-in-waiting, commits to 2018 run". Idaho Statesman . Retrieved July 7, 2016.
5. "Meridian Sen. Marv Hagedorn announces lt. governor bid". Meridian Press. December 7, 2016. Archived from the original on December 9, 2016. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
6. "2 more candidates to run for Idaho lieutenant governor". Spokesman.com. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
7. "Nonini makes bid for Idaho lieutenant governor". October 10, 2017. Archived from the original on October 18, 2017. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
8. "Yates launches lt. gov. campaign, joining crowded race". Spokesman.com. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
9. "Wasden to seek another term as Attorney General, not join crowds running for governor, Congress". Spokesman.com. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
10. Jacobson, Louis (June 4, 2018). "Secretary of State Races Are More Competitive and Important Than Ever". Governing. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
11. "Kimberlee Kruesi on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
12. "Eye on Boise: Idaho Treasurer Ron Crane won't seek re-election". Spokesman.com. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
13. "Tom Kealey announces run for state treasurer, third Republican in the race". Spokesman.com. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
14. "Ada County Treasurer Vicky McIntyre to run for state office". Spokesman.com. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
15. Russell, Betsy (April 19, 2018). "Idaho GOP candidates face off in state treasurer debate". The Spokesman-Review . Retrieved May 29, 2025.
16. Corbin, Clark (December 16, 2015). "Ybarra to Seek Second Term as Schools Chief". Idaho Education News. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
17. TEGNA. "Wilder schools superintendent to run for state post". KTVB. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
18. "Our Campaigns - ID Superintendent of Public Instruction Race - Nov 06, 2018". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved December 2, 2022.

External links

• Candidates at Vote Smart
• Candidates at Ballotpedia
• Campaign finance at OpenSecrets

Official Lieutenant Governor campaign websites

• Kristin Collum (D) for Lt. Governor
• Janice McGeachin (R) for Lt. Governor

Official Attorney General campaign websites

• Lawrence Wasden (R) for Attorney General

Official Secretary of State campaign websites

• Lawrence Denney (R) for Secretary of State ^{[ usurped ]}
• Jill Humble (D) for Secretary of State

Official Treasurer campaign websites

• Julie Ellsworth (R) for State Treasurer

Official Controller campaign websites

• Brandon Woolf (R) for State Controller

Official Superintendent of Public Instruction campaign websites

• Sherri Ybarra (R) for Superintendent