2018 Idaho elections

2018 Idaho elections

November 6, 2018
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

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

Incumbent Republican governor Butch Otter chose not to seek a fourth term.^[2] He was succeeded by lieutenant governor Brad Little.^[3]

Idaho gubernatorial election, 2018^[4]

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	Lisa Marie	51	0.0%
Total votes			605,131	100%
	Republican hold

Lieutenant governor

Incumbent Republican lieutenant governor Brad Little did not run for re-election to a third full term, and instead ran for governor.^[5] Former state representative Janice McGeachin won the general election with nearly 60% of the votes.^[6]

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%
	Republican hold

Attorney general

2018 Idaho Attorney General election

November 6, 2018

Nominee Lawrence Wasden Bruce Bistline Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 384,791 203,283 Percentage 65.4% 34.6%

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

Attorney General before election Lawrence Wasden Republican Elected Attorney General Lawrence Wasden Republican

Incumbent Republican attorney general Lawrence Wasden won re-election to a fifth term.^[6]

Republican primary

Nominee

• Lawrence Wasden, incumbent.^[7]

Primary results

Republican primary results^[8]

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

Democratic primary

Nominee

• Bruce Bistline, attorney and Democratic nominee in 2014.^[9]

Primary results

Democratic primary results^[10]

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

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Governing magazine[11]	Safe R	June 4, 2018

Results

Idaho Attorney General election, 2018^[12]

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

November 6, 2018

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.^[6]

Republican primary

Nominee

• Lawerence Denney, incumbent.^[13]

Primary results

Republican primary results^[14]

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

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Jill Humble, nurse.^[13]
• Joseph Chastain, tech consultant.^[15]

Primary results

Democratic primary results^[16]

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

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Governing magazine[17]	Safe R	June 4, 2018

Debate

2018 Idaho secretary of state election debate

No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Republican	Democratic
Key:  P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Not invited   I  Invited  W  Withdrawn
					Lawerence Denney	Jill Humble
1	October 11, 2018	IdahoPTV	Melissa Davlin	Idaho PBS	P	P

Results

Idaho Secretary of State election, 2018^[18]

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

Treasurer

2018 Idaho state treasurer election

November 6, 2018

Nominee Julie Ellsworth Party Republican Popular vote 465,109 Percentage 100%

County results Ellsworth:      90–100%

Treasurer before election Ron Crane Republican Elected Treasurer Julie Ellsworth Republican

Incumbent Republican state treasurer Ron Crane did not run for re-election to a sixth term.^[19] Former state representative Julie Ellsworth won the election unopposed as no Democrats filed to run for the race.^[20]

Republican primary

Candidates

• Julie Ellsworth, former state representative.^[21]
• Tom Kealey, Chicago Connection Restaurant Group owner and former certified public accountant.^[22]
• Vicky McIntyre, Ada County Treasurer.^[23]

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	April 19, 2018	KCTS	Melissa Davlin	Cascade PBS	P	P	P

Primary results

Primary results by county:

Ellsworth:

•   30–40%
•   40–50%
•   50–60%

Kealey:

•   30–40%

McIntyre:

•   30–40%

Republican primary results^[24]

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

General election

Idaho State Treasurer election, 2018^[25]

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

Controller

2018 Idaho state controller election

November 6, 2018

Nominee Brandon Woolf Party Republican Popular vote 465,105 Percentage 100%

County results Woolf:      90–100%

Controller before election Brandon Woolf Republican Elected Controller Brandon Woolf Republican

Incumbent Republican Controller Brandon Woolf was unopposed in both the Republican primary and in the general election.

Republican primary

Nominee

• Brandon Woolf, incumbent.^[26]

Primary results

Republican primary results^[27]

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

General election

Idaho State Controller election, 2018^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Brandon Woolf (incumbent)	465,105	100%
Total votes			465,105	100%
	Republican hold

Superintendent of public instruction

2018 Idaho Superintendent of public instruction election

November 6, 2018

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 Sherri Ybarra narrowly won re-election to a second term.^[29]

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Cindy Wilson, teacher.^[30]
• Allen Humble, retired hospital surveyor.^[31]

Primary results

Democratic primary results^[32]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Cindy Wilson	49,565	86.0
	Democratic	Allen Humble	8,051	14.0
Total votes			57,616	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

• Sherri Ybarra, incumbent.^[33]
• Jeff Dillon, Wilder School Superintendent.^[34]

Debate

2018 Idaho superintendent of public instruction Republican primary debate

No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Republican	Republican
Key:  P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Not invited   I  Invited  W  Withdrawn
					Sherri Ybarra	Jeff Dillon
1	April 27, 2018	IdahoPTV	Melissa Davlin	Idaho PBS	P	P

Primary results

Republican primary results^[35]

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

Endorsements

Sherri Ybarra (R)

Statewide officials

• Butch Otter, governor of Idaho.^[36]
• Brad Little, lieutenant governor of Idaho.^[36]
• Lawrence Denney, Idaho secretary of state.^[36]
• Brandon Woolf, Idaho state controller.^[36]
• Ron Crane, Idaho state treasurer.^[36]
• Lawrence Wasden, Idaho attorney general.^[36]
• Dave Leroy, former Idaho lieutenant governor and attorney general.^[36]

Cindy Wilson (D)

Orgaizations

• Idaho Education Association^[36]
• Idaho AFL-CIO^[36]

Statewide Officials

• Jim Jones, former Idaho attorney general and Idaho Supreme Court chief justice.^[36] (Republican)

Individuals

• Frank VanderSloot, businessman.^[36] (Republican)

Newspapers

• Idaho Statesman^[36]

Debate

2018 Idaho superintendent of public instruction election debate

No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Republican	Democratic
Key:  P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Not invited   I  Invited  W  Withdrawn
					Sherri Ybarra	Cindy Wilson
1	October 12, 2018	IdahoPTV	Melissa Davlin	Idaho PBS	P	P

Results

Idaho superintendent of public instruction election, 2018^[37]

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

By congressional district

Despite losing the election, Wilson won the second congressional district.^[38]

District	Ybarra	Wilson	Representative
1st	58%	42%	Raúl Labrador (115th Congress)
			Russ Fulcher (116th Congress)
2nd	44%	56%	Mike Simpson

State legislature

All 35 seats in the Idaho Senate and 70 seats in the Idaho House of Representatives were up for election.^[39]

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

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

Judicial seats

Supreme Court

Incumbent Idaho Supreme Court Justice G. Richard Bevan was appointed by Governor Butch Otter in 2017 to succeed Daniel Eismann.^[40] He ran unopposed and secured a full term.^[41]

Court of Appeals

Two judges on the Idaho Court of Appeals ran for election.

Incumbent judge David Gratton has been serving since 2009 while Jessica Lorello was appointed by Governor Otter in 2017 to succeed John Melanson.^[42] Both of them ran unopposed and secured another term.^[43]

Ballot measures

Two statewide ballot measures appeared on the ballot.

Proposition 1

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

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. Stringer, Kate (November 7, 2018). "EDlection2018: Republican Brad Little Projected Winner of Idaho Governor Race, With Plans to Support Vocational Training and Early Education". The 74. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
4. "Nov 04, 2014 General Election Results". Idaho Secretary of State. Archived from the original on December 1, 2014. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
5. Dentzer, Bill (June 28, 2016). "Brad Little, Idaho's governor-in-waiting, commits to 2018 run". Idaho Statesman. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
6. Brown, Ruth (November 7, 2018). "Republican Janice McGeachin wins Idaho's lt. gov. race over Kristin Collum". Idaho Statesman. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
7. Russell, Betsy Z. (September 7, 2017). "Wasden to seek another term as Attorney General, not join crowds running for governor, Congress". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
8. "Republican Primary | Attorney General". canvass.sos.idaho.gov. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
9. Russell, Betsy Z. (October 27, 2018). "Incumbent Lawrence Wasden faces accidental candidate Bruce Bistline in Idaho AG race". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
10. "Democratic Primary | Attorney General". canvass.sos.idaho.gov. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
11. Jacobson, Louis (June 18, 2018). "2018 Attorneys General Races: Who's Vulnerable?". Governing Magazine. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
12. "General Election | Attorney General". canvass.sos.idaho.gov. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
13. "It's now up to Idaho voters to chart the state's course". The Astorian. November 4, 2018. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
14. "Republican Primary | Attorney General". canvass.sos.idaho.gov. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
15. "Primary election endorsements". Idaho Mountain Express. May 9, 2018. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
16. "Democratic Primary | Attorney General". canvass.sos.idaho.gov. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
17. Jacobson, Louis (June 1, 2018). "Secretary of State Races Are More Competitive and Important Than Ever". Governing Magazine. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
18. "General Election | Attorney General". canvass.sos.idaho.gov. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
19. Russell, Betsy Z. (January 8, 2017). "Eye on Boise: Idaho Treasurer Ron Crane won't seek re-election". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
20. Russell, Betsy Z. (October 10, 2018). "Unopposed candidate for state treasurer still carrying $23K in campaign debt". The Idaho Press. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
21. "Idaho GOP candidates clash in state treasurer debate". The Spokesman-Review. April 20, 2018. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
22. Russell, Betsy Z. (July 27, 2017). "Tom Kealey announces run for state treasurer, third Republican in the race". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
23. Oliveria, D.F. (July 14, 2017). "Ada County Treasurer Vicky McIntyre to run for state office". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
24. "Republican Primary | State Treasurer". canvass.sos.idaho.gov. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
25. "General Election | State Treasurer". canvass.sos.idaho.gov. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
26. Kruesi, Kimberlee (May 13, 2018). "Idaho primary attracts competitive, crowded races". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
27. "Republican Primary | State Controller". canvass.sos.idaho.gov. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
28. "General Election | State Controller". canvass.sos.idaho.gov. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
29. Stringer, Kate (November 7, 2018). "EDlection 2018: Republican Sherri Ybarra Re-elected as Idaho School Superintendent in Close Race". The 74. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
30. Bodkin, Devin (July 23, 2018). "Wilson talks school improvement in Idaho Falls". Idaho Education News. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
31. Corbin, Clark (May 1, 2018). "Allen Humble, candidate for superintendent of public instruction". Idaho Education News. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
32. "Democratic Primary | Superintendent of Public Instruction". canvass.sos.idaho.gov. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
33. Corbin, Clark (December 16, 2015). "Ybarra to Seek Second Term as Schools Chief". Idaho Education News. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
34. "Wilder schools superintendent to run for state post". KTVB. April 29, 2017. Archived from the original on April 30, 2017. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
35. "Republican Primary | Superintendent of Public Instruction". canvass.sos.idaho.gov. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
36. Love, Alysha; Sewell, Cynthia (November 5, 2018). "The wide-ranging, party-dividing endorsements of Idaho's 2018 election". Idaho Statesman. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
37. "General Election | Superintendent of Public Instruction". canvass.sos.idaho.gov. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
38. "Our Campaigns - ID Superintendent of Public Instruction Race - Nov 06, 2018". OurCampaigns. Archived from the original on December 7, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2025.
39. "Idaho House of Representatives elections, 2018". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
40. "Fifth District Judge Bevan named to Idaho Supreme Court". KMVT. August 29, 2017. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
41. "Idaho Supreme Court elections, 2018". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
42. "Otter appoints new judge to Idaho Court of Appeals". San Francisco Chronicle. October 3, 2017. Archived from the original on October 4, 2017. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
43. "Idaho intermediate appellate court elections, 2018". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 26, 2025.

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
• 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