Idaho's 2nd congressional district

Idaho's 2nd congressional district is one of two congressional districts in the U.S. state of Idaho, in the eastern portion of the state. Beginning with the 2012 election, the district expanded westward and now includes most of Boise, the state capital and largest city.^[3] The district is currently represented by Mike Simpson, a Republican of Idaho Falls. A former dentist in Blackfoot, he was first elected in 1998; the seat opened when his predecessor Mike Crapo successfully ran for the U.S. Senate.

Idaho's 2nd congressional district
Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2023
Representative	Mike Simpson R–Idaho Falls
Distribution	67.03% urban 32.97% rural
Population (2022)	954,083
Median household income	$72,674[1]
Ethnicity	77.7% White 14.2% Hispanic 3.7% Two or more races 1.7% Asian 1.0% Black 1.0% Native American 0.6% other
Cook PVI	R+14[2]

History

After statehood in 1890, Idaho had a single seat in Congress through the 1910 election, a statewide at-large seat. Following the 1910 census, Idaho gained its second seat in the House; it was first contested in 1912, but the state did not immediately apportion into two districts. Through the 1916 election, both were statewide at-large seats. The first election in Idaho with two congressional districts was in 1918.

Following the 2010 census and redistricting, the 2nd district was pushed slightly to the west, picking up much of northeast Ada County, including most of Boise. It now covers all of the capital north of Interstate 84.^[3] The 1st district had long been reckoned as "the Boise district", as it historically covered most of Boise. However, a significant increase in population directly west of Boise over the previous decade, in western Ada County and Canyon County, resulted in the 1st losing most of its share of the capital. The 1st continues to serve most of Boise's suburbs; in Ada County itself, it continues to include Meridian, Eagle, and west Boise, south of Interstate 84.^[3]

Other major cities in the 2nd district include Idaho Falls, Pocatello, Twin Falls, Rexburg, Hailey, and Sun Valley. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a strong presence in the district; a member of the LDS Church has represented this district continuously since 1951.

Recent statewide election results

Presidential election results

Results from previous presidential elections

Year	Office	Results
2000	President	George W. Bush 67% - Al Gore 28%
2004	President	George W. Bush 69% - John Kerry 30%
2008	President	John McCain 60.5% - Barack Obama 37.1%
2012	President	Mitt Romney 64.1% - Barack Obama 33.1%
2016	President	Donald J. Trump 54.5% - Hillary Clinton 29.8%
2020	President	Donald J. Trump 60.1% - Joe Biden 36.6%

Non-presidential results

Results from previous non-presidential statewide elections

Year	Office	Results
2016	Senate	Mike Crapo 63.1% - Jerry Sturgill 30.4%
2018	Governor	Brad Little 55.6% - Paulette Jordan 42%
2018	Lt. Governor	Janice McGeachin 55.1% - Kristin Collum 44.9%
2018	Attorney General	Lawrence Wasden 61.7% - Bruce S. Bistline 38.3%
2020	Senate	Jim Risch 58.7% - Paulette Jordan 36.9%

Composition

The 2nd district includes the entirety of the following councils, with the exception of Ada, which it shares with the 1st district. Ada County municipalities included within the 2nd district include Avimor, Hidden Springs, Garden City, and portions of Boise.

#	County	Seat	Population
1	Ada	Boise	524,673
5	Bannock	Pocatello	90,400
7	Bear Lake	Paris	6,766
11	Bingham	Blackfoot	50,395
13	Blaine	Hailey	25,041
19	Bonneville	Idaho Falls	131,366
23	Butte	Arco	2,758
25	Camas	Fairfield	1,232
29	Caribou	Soda Springs	7,219
31	Cassia	Burley	25,696
33	Clark	Dubois	801
37	Custer	Challis	4,532
39	Elmore	Mountain Home	29,724
41	Franklin	Preston	15,494
43	Fremont	St. Anthony	14,196
47	Gooding	Gooding	16,061
51	Jefferson	Rigby	34,198
53	Jerome	Jerome	25,479
59	Lehmi	Salmon	8,441
63	Minidoka	Rupert	22,480
65	Madison	Rexburg	54,547
71	Oneida	Malad City	4,953
77	Power	American Falls	8,253
81	Teton	Driggs	12,549
83	Twin Falls	Twin Falls	95,156

List of members representing the district

Representative	Party	Years	Cong ress	Electoral history
District created March 4, 1919
Addison Smith (Twin Falls)	Republican	March 4, 1919 – March 3, 1933	66th 67th 68th 69th 70th 71st 72nd	Redistricted from the at-large district and re-elected in 1918. Re-elected in 1920. Re-elected in 1922. Re-elected in 1924. Re-elected in 1926. Re-elected in 1928. Re-elected in 1930. Lost re-election.
Thomas Coffin (Pocatello)	Democratic	March 4, 1933 – June 8, 1934	73rd	Elected in 1932. Died.
Vacant		June 6, 1934 – January 3, 1935
D. Worth Clark (Pocatello)	Democratic	January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1939	74th 75th	Elected in 1934. Re-elected in 1936. Retired to run for U.S. Senator.
Henry Dworshak (Burley)	Republican	January 3, 1939 – November 5, 1946	76th 77th 78th 79th	Elected in 1938. Re-elected in 1940. Re-elected in 1942. Re-elected in 1944. Resigned when elected to U.S. Senate.
Vacant		November 5, 1946 – January 3, 1947	79th
John Sanborn (Hagerman)	Republican	January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1951	80th 81st	Elected in 1946. Re-elected in 1948. Retired to run for U.S. Senator.
Hamer Budge (Boise)	Republican	January 3, 1951 – January 3, 1961	82nd 83rd 84th 85th 86th	Elected in 1950. Re-elected in 1952. Re-elected in 1954. Re-elected in 1956. Re-elected in 1958. Lost re-election.
Ralph Harding (Blackfoot)	Democratic	January 3, 1961 – January 3, 1965	87th 88th	Elected in 1960. Re-elected in 1962. Lost re-election.
George Hansen (Pocatello)	Republican	January 3, 1965 – January 3, 1969	89th 90th	Elected in 1964. Re-elected in 1966. Retired to run for U.S. Senator.
Orval Hansen (Idaho Falls)	Republican	January 3, 1969 – January 3, 1975	91st 92nd 93rd	Elected in 1968. Re-elected in 1970. Re-elected in 1972. Lost renomination.
George Hansen (Pocatello)	Republican	January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1985	94th 95th 96th 97th 98th	Elected in 1974. Re-elected in 1976. Re-elected in 1978. Re-elected in 1980. Re-elected in 1982. Lost re-election.
Richard Stallings (Rexburg)	Democratic	January 3, 1985 – January 3, 1993	99th 100th 101st 102nd	Elected in 1984. Re-elected in 1986. Re-elected in 1988. Re-elected in 1990. Retired to run for U.S. Senator.
Mike Crapo (Idaho Falls)	Republican	January 3, 1993 – January 3, 1999	103rd 104th 105th	Elected in 1992. Re-elected in 1994. Re-elected in 1996. Retired to run for U.S. Senator.
Mike Simpson (Idaho Falls)	Republican	January 3, 1999 – present	106th 107th 108th 109th 110th 111th 112th 113th 114th 115th 116th 117th 118th	Elected in 1998. Re-elected in 2000. Re-elected in 2002. Re-elected in 2004. Re-elected in 2006. Re-elected in 2008. Re-elected in 2010. Re-elected in 2012. Re-elected in 2014. Re-elected in 2016. Re-elected in 2018. Re-elected in 2020. Re-elected in 2022.

Election history

2002

2002 Idaho's 2nd congressional district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike Simpson (incumbent)	135,605	68.18
	Democratic	Edward Kinghorn	57,769	29.05
	Libertarian	Gregory Corron	5,508	2.77
Total votes			198,882	100.00
Turnout
	Republican hold

2004

2004 Idaho's 2nd congressional district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike Simpson (incumbent)	193,704	70.74
	Democratic	Lin Whitworth	80,133	29.26
Total votes			273,837	100.00
Turnout
	Republican hold

2006

2006 Idaho's 2nd congressional district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike Simpson (incumbent)	132,262	62.00
	Democratic	Jim D. Hansen	73,441	34.43
	Independent	Cameron Forth	5,113	2.40
	Constitution	Travis J. Hedrick	2,516	1.18
Total votes			213,332	100.00
Turnout
	Republican hold

2008

2008 Idaho's 2nd congressional district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike Simpson (incumbent)	205,777	70.89
	Democratic	Debbie Holmes	83,878	28.90
	No party	Others	612	0.21
Total votes			290,267	100.00
Turnout
	Republican hold

2010

2010 Idaho's 2nd congressional district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike Simpson (incumbent)	137,468	68.83
	Democratic	Mike Crawford	48,749	24.41
	Independent	Brian Schad	13,500	6.76
Total votes			199,717	100.00
Turnout
	Republican hold

2012

2012 Idaho's 2nd congressional district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike Simpson (incumbent)	207,412	65.10
	Democratic	Nicole LeFavour	110,847	34.80
	No party	Others	235	0.10
Total votes			318,494	100.00
Turnout
	Republican hold

2014

2014 Idaho's 2nd congressional district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike Simpson (incumbent)	131,492	61.36
	Democratic	Richard Stallings	82,801	38.64
Total votes			214,293	100.00
Turnout
	Republican hold

2016

2016 Idaho's 2nd congressional district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike Simpson (incumbent)	205,292	62.93
	Democratic	Jennifer Martinez	95,940	29.41
	Constitution	Anthony Tomkins	25,005	7.66
Total votes			326,237	100.00
Turnout
	Republican hold

2018

2018 Idaho's 2nd congressional district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike Simpson (incumbent)	170,274	60.67
	Democratic	Aaron Swisher	110,381	39.33
Total votes			280,655	100.00
Turnout
	Republican hold

2020

2020 Idaho's 2nd congressional district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike Simpson (incumbent)	250,678	64.01
	Democratic	Aaron Swisher	124,151	31.07
	Constitution	Pro-Life	8,573	2.02
	Libertarian	Idaho Sierra Law	7,940	2.00
Total votes			391,342	100.00
	Republican hold

2022

2022 Idaho's 2nd congressional district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike Simpson (incumbent)	172,448	63.6
	Democratic	Wendy Norman	98,736	36.4
Total votes			271,184	100.00
	Republican hold

Historical district boundaries

2003 - 2013

2013 – 2023

See also

• Idaho's congressional districts
• List of United States congressional districts

• United States portal

References

1. "My Congressional District".
2. "2022 Cook PVI: District Map and List". Cook Political Report. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
3. "Adopted redistricting plans: Congressional plan". Idaho State Legislature. Redistricting Commission. October 17, 2011. Archived from the original on December 8, 2011. Retrieved March 12, 2013.

• Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
• Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
• Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present

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