By Ruth Brown, Idaho Reports
After a heated campaign season, former congressman Raúl Labrador took the lead on Tuesday to serve as the next Republican nominee for Idaho’s attorney general.
Labrador unseated five-term incumbent AG Lawrence Wasden. Labrador took 51.56% of the vote while Wasden took 37.91%.
Wasden earned 103,049 votes, but Labrador earned 140,159 on Tuesday.
Coeur d’Alene attorney Art Macomber trailed behind with 10.53% of the vote, with 28,630 votes.
Labrador is a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Idaho House of Representatives.
First elected in 2003, Wasden is the longest-serving attorney general in Idaho. Prior to being elected, he worked as a deputy attorney general in Idaho since 1989.
Labrador will face Democrat Steven Scanlin in the November general election.
Another incumbent, Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra also lost her seat on Tuesday.
After a year of heated education discussions, Debbie Critchfield took the lead Tuesday evening to be the next Republican candidate for superintendent of public instruction.
Incumbent Superintendent Sherri Ybarra came in third with 26.58% of the vote, earning 70,184 votes. First elected to the superintendent’s seat in 2015, Ybarra is a former teacher.
Debbie Critchfield led with 39.6% of the vote, earning 104,552 votes. She’ll move forward to the general election.
Branden Durst took second place with 33.82% of the vote, earning 89,288 votes.
Critchfield is the former member of the Idaho State Board of Education and public information officer for Cassia County School District.
The superintendent of public instruction oversees the education of more than 300,000 Idaho students and holds a seat on the State Board of Education.
The winner of the Republican primary for the superintendent’s seat, Critchfield, will face Democrat Terry Gilbert in the November general election. Gilbert is former president of the Idaho Education Association.
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.
