2014 Idaho gubernatorial election

For related races, see 2014 United States gubernatorial elections.

The 2014 Idaho gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 2014, to elect the governor of Idaho, concurrently with the election to Idaho's Class II U.S. Senate seat, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.

2014 Idaho gubernatorial election

← 2010 November 4, 2014 2018 →

Nominee Butch Otter A.J. Balukoff Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 235,405 169,556 Percentage 53.52% 38.55%

County results Congressional district results Otter:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Balukoff:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

Governor before election Butch Otter Republican Elected Governor Butch Otter Republican

Incumbent Republican governor Butch Otter ran for election to a third consecutive term in office.^[1] In primary elections held on May 20, 2014, Otter was renominated and the Democrats nominated businessman and president of the Boise School District Board of Trustees A.J. Balukoff. Otter defeated Balukoff and four Independent and Third Party challengers in the general election.

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

• Walt Bayes, perennial candidate^[2]
• Harley Brown, candidate for Idaho's 1st congressional district in 2000 and 2010 and candidate for Mayor of Boise in 2001^[2]
• Russ Fulcher, state senator and future U.S. Representative from Idaho's 1st congressional district^[3]
• Butch Otter, incumbent governor^[1]

Declined

• Raúl Labrador, U.S. representative^[4]
• Brad Little, Lieutenant Governor of Idaho^[5]
• Tom Luna, Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction^[6]
• Rex Rammell, activist, veterinarian and candidate for governor in 2010^[7]
• Lawrence Wasden, Attorney General of Idaho^[8]

Endorsements

Russ Fulcher

• Raúl Labrador, U.S. representative^[9]

Results

Results by county:

  Otter

•   40–50%
•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%

  Fulcher

•   40–50%
•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%

Republican primary results^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Butch Otter (incumbent)	79,786	51.36
	Republican	Russ Fulcher	67,702	43.59
	Republican	Harley Brown	5,084	3.27
	Republican	Walt Bayes	2,761	1.78
Total votes			155,333	100

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

• A.J. Balukoff, businessman and president of the Boise School District Board of Trustees^[11]
• Terry Kerr, former Republican candidate for local office^[2]

Declined

• Keith G. Allred, activist, mediator and nominee for governor in 2010^[12]
• Cecil D. Andrus, former governor and former United States Secretary of the Interior^[13]
• David H. Bieter, Mayor of Boise^[14][11]

Endorsements

A.J. Balukoff

• Tommy Ahlquist, developer^[15]

Results

Results by county:

  Balukoff

•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%

  Kerr

•   50–60%
•   60–70%

Democratic primary results^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	A.J. Balukoff	16,753	65.33
	Democratic	Terry Kerr	8,890	34.67
Total votes			25,643	100

Constitution nomination

Candidates

Declared

• Steven Pankey, Republican candidate for lieutenant governor in 2010^[2]

Libertarian nomination

Candidates

Declared

• John Bujak, former Canyon County prosecutor^[16]

Independents

Candidates

Declared

• Jill Humble, retired nurse educator and candidate for Boise City Council in 2013^[2]
• Pro-Life (formerly known as Marvin Richardson), organic strawberry farmer, anti-abortion activist and perennial candidate^[17]

General election

Debates

A debate was held between Balukoff & Bujak. Gov. Otter chose not to participate.

• Complete video of debate, September 24, 2014 - C-SPAN

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[18]	Solid R	November 3, 2014
Sabato's Crystal Ball[19]	Likely R	November 3, 2014
Rothenberg Political Report[20]	Likely R	November 3, 2014
Real Clear Politics[21]	Likely R	November 3, 2014

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Butch Otter (R)	A.J. Balukoff (D)	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling[22]	October 30–November 2, 2014	1,001	± 3.1%	49%	37%	10%[23]	5%
				55%	42%	—	3%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov[24]	October 16–23, 2014	575	± 6%	53%	35%	2%	10%
Public Policy Polling[25]	October 9–12, 2014	522	± 4.3%	39%	35%	12%[26]	14%
				47%	38%	—	15%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov[27]	September 20–October 1, 2014	594	± 5%	57%	33%	1%	9%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov[28]	August 18–September 2, 2014	844	± 4%	51%	33%	3%	13%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov[29]	July 5–24, 2014	691	± 4.2%	56%	34%	4%	7%
Rasmussen Reports[30]	May 28–29, 2014	750	± 4%	50%	36%	8%	7%

Results

Idaho gubernatorial election, 2014^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Butch Otter (incumbent)	235,405	53.52%	−5.59%
	Democratic	A.J. Balukoff	169,556	38.55%	+5.70%
	Libertarian	John Bujak	17,884	4.07%	+2.77%
	Independent	Jill Humble	8,801	2.00%	N/A
	Constitution	Steve Pankey	5,219	1.19%	N/A
	Independent	Pro-Life	2,870	0.65%	−0.20%
	n/a	Write-ins	95	0.02%	N/A
Total votes			'439,830'	'100.0%'	N/A
	Republican hold

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Ada (largest municipality: Boise)
• Bannock (largest municipality: Pocatello)

By congressional district

Otter won both congressional districts.^[32]

District	Otter	Balukoff	Representative
1st	57%	35%	Raúl Labrador
2nd	50%	42%	Mike Simpson