Idaho’s Republican state officials are all running for re-election. Who are the other candidates?

BOISE (Idaho Capital Sun) — Republican incumbents in all of Idaho’s statewide constitutional offices — the governor, attorney general, secretary of state, and more — are all running for re-election, and are largely not set to face Republican challengers, with the governor’s race being one exception.

This year, all statewide constitutional offices — such as governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general — are up for election as well as all 105 seats in the Idaho Legislature. Three of Idaho’s four congressional seats will also be on the ballot in the May primary and November general elections.

First, candidates with a declared party will vie for the party’s bid in the May 19 primary election. Then, winners of the races will ultimately be determined in the November general election.

But in Idaho, Republican primary elections often decide major elections. Idaho voters last elected a Democrat to statewide office in 2002. Since 1992, Republicans have held a supermajority in both chambers of the Idaho Legislature. Only registered Republican voters can vote in Idaho’s closed GOP primary elections. 

Here’s a look at who’s running to represent Idaho in statewide offices including offices for the governor, attorney general, secretary of state, state controller, state treasurer, and superintendent of public instruction, as well as key legislative races. 

Find the full list of candidates for all offices online in the Idaho Secretary of State Office’s candidate database. 

The deadline to declare candidacy for Idaho federal, statewide and legislative offices was 5 p.m. Friday. Candidates have until 5 p.m. March 6 to withdraw their candidacy, or to declare their intent to be a write-in candidate. 

Idaho Gov. Brad Little faces seven Republican challengers

Idaho Republican Gov. Brad Little is seeking re-election to a third four-year term. He’s set to face seven Republican challengers in the May primary election: Daniel C. Fowler, Ethan Giles, Justin R. Plante, Lisa Marie, Ron James, Sean Calvert Crystal and Mark Fitzpatrick, who owns State Street Saloon in Eagle and organized the Hetero Awesome Fest in downtown Boise in 2025.

Four candidates have filed to run as Democrats: Chanelle Torrez, Jill C. Kirkham, Maxine Durand and Terri Pickens, an attorney who ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in 2022.

Two candidates filed to run as Libertarians: Paul Sand and Melissa-Sue Robinson. Retired Idaho Supreme Court Justice John Stegner filed to run for governor as an independent. One candidate, who legally changed his name to Pro-Life, filed under the Constitution Party. 

Little, a rancher from Emmett, was first elected governor in 2018 after previously serving as lieutenant governor and a member of the Idaho Senate. 

The May Republican primary election for governor is set to be an eight-way race between Little, Fowler, Giles, Plante, Marie, James, Calvert Crystal, and Fitzpatrick. 

The winners of the May 19 primary elections will advance to the Nov. 3 general election. 

Republican Lt. Gov Scott Bedke faces no primary challenger in his bid for re-election. Eric Myricks is running as a Democratic candidate for the lieutenant governor’s office. 

All constitutional offices in Idaho are elected separately — including the governor and lieutenant governor. 

Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador is sole Republican candidate

Republican Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador faces no primary challenger in his bid for a second four-year term as the state’s top attorney.

Lori Hickman filed to run as a Democrat in the attorney general’s race. Hickman is an Idaho attorney with two decades of experience, and has served as board chair of Mormon Women for Ethical Government, the Idaho Democratic Party announced in a news release.

Labrador and Hickman are not set to compete against each other until the Nov. 3 general election. 

The attorney general’s office is responsible for providing legal representation for the state of Idaho, including its state agencies, offices and boards to protect the state’s legal interests. It is part of the executive branch.

In 2022, Labrador defeated the state’s long-time Republican attorney general, Lawrence Wasden, in the primary election. Born in Puerto Rico, Labrador was the first Hispanic member of Idaho’s congressional delegation and a founding member of the U.S. House Freedom Caucus.

Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane is sole Republican candidate

Republican Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane faces no Republican challenger in his bid to be re-elected to a second four-year term. 

Shawn Keenan, who lives in Coeur d’Alene and unsuccessfully ran as a Democrat for Secretary of State in 2022, also filed to run as a Democrat. 

The secretary of state’s office manages the state’s elections, runs an online campaign finance transparency database, and manages business filings.

McGrane and Keenan will face off in the November general election. 

Superintendent of public instruction, state treasurer, state controller candidates face no primary challengers

Republican Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield faces no primary challenger in her bid for a second four-year term leading the office that leads the state’s K-12 public school system. 

Becky Sundin, a Nampa resident named 2018 Idaho Teacher of the Year, is running as a Democrat, Idaho Education News reported. Teresa Roundy filed as a Constitution Party candidate.

Republican Idaho State Controller Brandon Woolf faces no primary challenger in his bid for re-election. He has served in the office since being appointed in 2012, and was first elected in 2014.

But in the November general election, Woolf is set to face a Democratic challenger who is well known in Idaho state politics. 

Rakesh Mohan, a longtime director of an independent state watchdog agency, filed to run for state controller as a Democrat. Mohan retired from leading the Office of Performance Evaluations in June 2024. 

Republican State Treasurer Julie Ellsworth faces no primary challenger in her bid for re-election. Kevin A. Jones, who lives in Boise, filed to run as a Democrat. 

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