By Ruth Brown, Idaho Reports
As results rolled in Tuesday evening, it quickly became clear that Gov. Brad Little will serve as Idaho’s next Republican gubernatorial candidate, garnering 148,214 votes.
With 52.76% of the vote Little took the lead, on track to hold his office for another four years.
Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin held second place, taking 32.28% of the vote, with 90,682 votes in her favor. President Donald Trump endorsed McGeachin in November of 2021.
Edward “Ed” Humphreys, took 10.97% of the Republican vote, with 30,809 votes in his favor.
Steven Bradshaw, Ben Cannady, Ashley Jackson, Lisa Marie and Cody Usabel trailed behind with the rest of the Republican vote.
Prior to taking office in 2019, Little held the lieutenant governor’s seat since 2009
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stephen Heidt got 25,012 votes, though it isn’t yet clear if he will be the nominee, as the Secretary of State won’t immediately be able to tally the number of votes for write-in candidate Shelby Rognstad.
Rognstad was ineligible to be on the Democratic ballot because he failed to change his voter registration from Republican to Democrat before the March 11 filing deadline. Rognstad previously said he registered as a Republican in earlier elections because in his county and legislative district there are often only Republicans on the ballot and he wanted his vote to count.
In the Libretarian primary race, John Dionne Jr. took 39.8% of the vote, with 281 votes, while Paul Sand took 60% of the vote, with 425votes.
In the November election, Little will face Democrat Heidt, or possibly Rognstad, Independent candidate Ammon Bundy, Libretarian candidate Paul Sand, and Constitutional candidate Chantyrose Davison.
Ruth Brown | Producer
Ruth Brown grew up in South Dakota and her first job out of college was covering the South Dakota Legislature. She’s since moved on to Idaho lawmakers. Brown spent 10 years working in print journalism, including newspapers such as the Idaho Statesman and Idaho Press, where she’s covered everything from the correctional system to health care issues. She joined Idaho Reports in 2021 and looks forward to telling stories about how state policy can impact the lives of regular Idahoans.
