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Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction election, 2026
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| Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction |
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| Election details |
| Filing deadline: February 27, 2026 |
| Primary: May 19, 2026 General: November 3, 2026 |
| How to vote |
| Poll times:
8 a.m. to 8 p.m. |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
| Federal and state primary competitiveness State executive elections in 2026 Impact of term limits in 2026 State government trifectas State government triplexes Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026 |
| Idaho executive elections |
| Governor Lieutenant Governor |
Idaho is holding an election for superintendent of public instruction on November 3, 2026.
Candidates and election results
Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:
- Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
- Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
General election for Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction
Incumbent Debbie Critchfield is running in the general election for Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Debbie Critchfield (R) | |
| ||||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Candidate profiles
There are currently no candidate profiles created for this race. Candidate profiles will appear here as they are created. Encourage the candidates in this race to complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey so that their profile will appear here. You can ask candidates in this race to fill out the survey by clicking their names below:
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Voting information
- See also: Voting in Idaho
Past elections
The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2014.
2022
General election
General election for Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction
Debbie Critchfield defeated Terry Gilbert in the general election for Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Debbie Critchfield (R) | 69.8 | 404,549 |
 | Terry Gilbert (D) | 30.2 | 175,076 | |
| Total votes: 579,625 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction
Terry Gilbert advanced from the Democratic primary for Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction on May 17, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Terry Gilbert | 100.0 | 31,868 |
| Total votes: 31,868 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction
Debbie Critchfield defeated Branden Durst and incumbent Sherri Ybarra in the Republican primary for Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction on May 17, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Debbie Critchfield | 39.7 | 105,070 |
 | Branden Durst | 33.8 | 89,451 | |
 | Sherri Ybarra | 26.6 | 70,431 | |
| Total votes: 264,952 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2018
General election
General election for Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction
Incumbent Sherri Ybarra defeated Cindy Wilson in the general election for Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Sherri Ybarra (R) | 51.5 | 305,977 |
 | Cindy Wilson (D) | 48.5 | 288,488 | |
| Total votes: 594,465 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction
Cindy Wilson defeated Allen Humble in the Democratic primary for Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction on May 15, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Cindy Wilson | 86.0 | 49,565 |
| Allen Humble | 14.0 | 8,051 | ||
| Total votes: 57,616 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction
Incumbent Sherri Ybarra defeated Jeff Dillon in the Republican primary for Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction on May 15, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Sherri Ybarra | 58.9 | 103,071 |
| Jeff Dillon | 41.1 | 71,856 | ||
| Total votes: 174,927 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2014
| Superintendent of Idaho, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Sherri Ybarra |
50.6% | 217,049 | |
| Democratic | Jana Jones | 49.4% | 211,483 | |
| Total Votes | 428,532 | |||
| Election results Idaho Secretary of State | ||||
Election analysis
Click the tabs below to view information about demographics, past elections, and partisan control of the state.
- Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the state.
- Statewide elections - Information about recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections in the state.
- State partisanship - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
- Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.
Cook PVI by congressional district
| District | Incumbent | PVI |
|---|---|---|
| Idaho's 1st | Russ Fulcher | R+22 |
| Idaho's 2nd | Mike Simpson | R+13 |
2024 presidential results by 2026 congressional district lines
| District | Kamala Harris  |
Donald Trump  |
|---|---|---|
| Idaho's 1st | 26.0% | 71.0% |
| Idaho's 2nd | 35.0% | 62.0% |
| Source: The Downballot | ||
2016-2024
How a state's counties vote in a presidential election and the size of those counties can provide additional insights into election outcomes at other levels of government including statewide and congressional races. Below, four categories are used to describe each county's voting pattern over the 2016, 2020, and 2024 presidential elections: Solid, Trending, Battleground, and New. Click [show] on the table below for examples:
| County-level voting pattern categories | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | |||||||
| Status | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 | ||||
| Solid Democratic | D | D | D | ||||
| Trending Democratic | R | D | D | ||||
| Battleground Democratic | D | R | D | ||||
| New Democratic | R | R | D | ||||
| Republican | |||||||
| Status | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 | ||||
| Solid Republican | R | R | R | ||||
| Trending Republican | D | R | R | ||||
| Battleground Republican | R | D | R | ||||
| New Republican | D | D | R | ||||
Following the 2024 presidential election, 96% of Idahoans lived in one of the state's 41 Solid Republican counties, which voted for the Republican presidential candidate in every election from 2016 to 2024, and 2.1% lived in one of 1 New Republican counties. Overall, Idaho was Solid Republican, having voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016, Donald Trump (R) in 2020, and Donald Trump (R) in 2024. Use the table below to view the total number of each type of county in Idaho following the 2024 election as well as the overall percentage of the state population located in each county type.
| Idaho county-level statistics, 2024 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solid Republican | 41 | 96.0% | |||||
| New Republican | 1 | 2.1% | |||||
| Solid Democratic | 1 | 1.3% | |||||
| Trending Democratic | 1 | 0.6% | |||||
| Total voted Democratic | 2 | 1.9% | |||||
| Total voted Republican | 42 | 98.1% | |||||
Historical voting trends
Idaho presidential election results (1900-2024)
- 9 Democratic wins
- 23 Republican wins
| Year | 1900 | 1904 | 1908 | 1912 | 1916 | 1920 | 1924 | 1928 | 1932 | 1936 | 1940 | 1944 | 1948 | 1952 | 1956 | 1960 | 1964 | 1968 | 1972 | 1976 | 1980 | 1984 | 1988 | 1992 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012 | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winning Party | D | R | R | D | D | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
This section details the results of the five most recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections held in the state.
U.S. Senate elections
The table below details the vote in the five most recent U.S. Senate races in Idaho.
Gubernatorial elections
- See also: Governor of Idaho
The table below details the vote in the five most recent gubernatorial elections in Idaho.
- See also: Party control of Idaho state government
Congressional delegation
The table below displays the partisan composition of Idaho's congressional delegation as of October 2025.
| Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Idaho | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | U.S. Senate | U.S. House | Total |
| Democratic | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Republican | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Independent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vacancies | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 2 | 2 | 4 |
State executive
The table below displays the officeholders in Idaho's top four state executive offices as of October 2025.
| Office | Officeholder |
|---|---|
| Governor | Brad Little |
| Lieutenant Governor | Scott Bedke |
| Secretary of State | Phil McGrane |
| Attorney General | Raúl Labrador |
State legislature
Idaho State Senate
| Party | As of October 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 6 | |
| Republican Party | 29 | |
| Other | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 0 | |
| Total | 35 | |
Idaho House of Representatives
| Party | As of October 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 9 | |
| Republican Party | 61 | |
| Other | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 0 | |
| Total | 70 | |
Trifecta control
Idaho Party Control: 1992-2025
No Democratic trifectas • Thirty one years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
| Senate | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
| House | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
The table below details demographic data in Idaho and compares it to the broader United States as of 2023.
| Demographic Data for Idaho | ||
|---|---|---|
| Idaho | United States | |
| Population | 1,839,106 | 331,449,281 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 82,644 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 83.3% | 63.4% |
| Black/African American | 0.7% | 12.4% |
| Asian | 1.3% | 5.8% |
| Native American | 1.1% | 0.9% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.1% | 0.4% |
| Other (single race) | 4.9% | 6.6% |
| Multiple | 8.4% | 10.7% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 13.3% | 19% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 91.7% | 89.4% |
| College graduation rate | 31.2% | 35% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $74,636 | $78,538 |
| Persons below poverty level | 10.6% | 12.4% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2018-2023). | ||
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
See also
| Idaho | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
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External links
Footnotes
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