Idaho gubernatorial election, 2014: Difference between revisions

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====Democratic primary====
====Democratic primary====
{{IDDemPrimaryGov2014electbox}}
{{IDDemPrimaryGov2014electbox}}
==Debates==
===May 14 Republican primary debate===
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{{Youtube|title=CQlPcwiruaY|size=250|caption='''Ninth Idaho GOP Gubernatorial Primary Debate''' - 5/14/14}}
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On May 14, 2014, a debate between the Republican gubernatorial primary candidates—two-term incumbent Gov. [[Butch Otter]], Idaho Senator [[Russ Fulcher]], [[Walt Bayes]] and [[Harley D. Brown| Harley Brown]]—aired on Idaho Public Television.<ref>[http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/fringe-contenders-send-idaho-governor-debate-viral-23741354 ''abc News'', "Fringe Contenders Send Idaho Governor Debate Viral," May 16, 2014]</ref><ref name=debate>[http://www.idahostatesman.com/2014/05/08/3175014/browns-profanity-prompts-30-second.html ''The Idaho Statesman'', "Brown's profanity prompts 30-second delay for Idaho governor TV debate," May 8, 2014]</ref> The debate centered on topics including abortion and the Affordable Care Act, supporting blue-collar ways to fix the state's economy and supporting state sovereignty over Idaho lands. The predictability of issues raised in the debate was belied by a steady stream of improbable responses from Bayes and Brown, whose politically incorrect proclamations on discrimination and abortion, among virtually every topic addressed, downshifted the gravity of the event by several orders of magnitude. Bayes, an elderly ex-convict and staunch anti-abortionist with a beard full of bible snippets, and Brown, an engineer/biker with a colorful self-titled patois that necessitated a 30-second delay in the debate's broadcast, flustered the moderator as well as the journalists in attendance with their unorthodox statements.<ref name=debate/> Bayes and Brown struck a sharp contrast with the more polished duo of Otter and Fulcher on the debate stage, the configuration of which gave the impression the candidates were debating in two teams of two rather than as four individuals competing for sole distinction.<ref name=politico>[http://www.politico.com/story/2014/05/idaho-gubernatorial-debate-gop-106722.html ''Politico'', "Candidates in Idaho's GOP race for governor debate," May 14, 2014]</ref>
The debate drew massive viewership and national media coverage for the rare glimpse it offered into the sharp divides in Idaho politics. Although most of the attention focused on Bayes and Brown, the debate nevertheless served as a platform for Otter and Fulcher to deliver their campaign messages to audiences beyond their normal reach. Otter used his time to remind voters about his successes in the governor's office over the last eight years, crediting himself with leading Idaho out of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, lowering taxes while balancing the budget and with reducing the size of the state government. "I'm honored to have been through the refining fire with you, and I'm excited about continuing to face the challenges of today and tomorrow," Otter stated. Fulcher, meanwhile, was able to promote his plan to set up a free-market health care alternative to the Affordable Care Act and to highlight his ideas for restoring Idaho's financial and land sovereignty by better utilizing natural resources and expanding of related state-based industries. Fulcher also took advantage of the debate platform to condemn Otter's economic leadership and his performance in navigating the state's implementation of the Affordable Care Act.<ref name=politico/>
Summing up the selection of Republican gubernatorial candidates who would be facing off in the May 20 primary election the following week, Brown put it simply to the debate audience: "Folks, you have a choice: A cowboy, a curmudgeon, a biker or a normal guy. Take your pick."<ref name=politico/>


==Polls==
==Polls==

Latest revision as of 16:01, 29 July 2025

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Idaho Gubernatorial Election
Primary Date:
May 20, 2014
General Election Date:
November 4, 2014
November 4 Election Winner:
Butch Otter Republican Party
Incumbent prior to election:
Butch Otter Republican Party
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The Idaho gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Butch Otter (R) ran for re-election, as the state has no gubernatorial term limits. Otter won another four-year term against Democratic candidate A.J. Balukoff and four third party candidates.

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. In Idaho, parties decide who may vote in their primaries.[1] As of October 2025, the Democratic Party allows unaffiliated voters to vote in its primary, while the Republican Party only allows voters registered with its party to vote in its primary. Unaffiliated voters can choose to affiliate with a party on Election Day.[2][3]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

As of 2014, the governor's office had been held by the Republican Party since 1995. Polling in mid-October showed the race between Otter and Balukoff tightening to a four-point margin, as third party candidates accumulated support from 12 percent of respondents.

Candidates

General election

Republican Party Butch Otter - Incumbent Green check mark transparent.png[4]
Democratic Party A.J. Balukoff[5]
Libertarian Party John T. Bujak[6]
Grey.png Pro-Life[7]
Grey.png Jill Humble[6]
Constitution Party Steve Pankey[6]

Lost in the primary

Republican Party Walt Bayes[6]
Republican Party Harley D. Brown[6]
Republican Party Russell Fulcher[8][9]
Democratic Party Terry Kerr[6]

Results

General election

Governor of Idaho, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngButch Otter Incumbent 53.5% 235,405
     Democratic A.J. Balukoff 38.6% 169,556
     Libertarian John T. Bujak 4.1% 17,884
     Independent Jill Humble 2% 8,801
     Constitution Steve Pankey 1.2% 5,219
     Independent Pro-Life 0.7% 2,870
     N/A Write-ins 0% 95
Total Votes 439,830
Election results via Idaho Secretary of State

Primary election

Republican primary

Governor of Idaho, Republican Primary, 2014
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngButch Otter Incumbent 51.4% 79,779
Russell Fulcher 43.6% 67,694
Harley D. Brown 3.3% 5,084
Walt Bayes 1.8% 2,753
Total Votes 155,310
Election results via Idaho Secretary of State.

Democratic primary

Governor of Idaho, Democratic Primary, 2014
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngA.J. Balukoff 65.3% 16,751
Terry Kerr 34.7% 8,887
Total Votes 25,638
Election results via Idaho Secretary of State.


Polls

Governor of Idaho - All candidates
Poll Butch Otter* A.J. BalukoffJohn T. BujakSteve PankeyJill HumblePro-LifeUndecidedMargin of errorSample size
Public Policy Polling
October 9-12, 2014		 39%35%4%2%3%3%14%+/-4.3522
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.
Governor of Idaho - Balukoff v. Otter
Poll Butch Otter* A.J. BalukoffOther/UndecidedMargin of errorSample size
New York Times/CBS/YouGov
October 16-23, 2014		 53%35%12%+/-6575
New York Times/CBS/YouGov
October 9-12, 2014		 57%33%10%+/-5594
AVERAGES 55% 34% 11% +/-5.5 584.5
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Note: An asterisk (*) denotes incumbent status.


Past elections

2010

Idaho Governor, 2010
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngC.L. "Butch" Otter Incumbent 59.1% 267,483
     Democratic Keith Allred 32.9% 148,680
     Independent Jana M. Kemp 5.9% 26,655
     Libertarian Ted Dunlap 1.3% 5,867
     Independent Pro-Life (Marvin Thomas Richardson) 0.9% 3,850
Total Votes 452,535
Election results via Idaho Secretary of State

2006

Idaho Governor, 2006
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngC.L. "Butch" Otter 52.7% 237,437
     Democratic Jerry M. Brady 44.1% 198,845
     Constitution Marvin Richardson 1.6% 7,309
     Libertarian Ted Dunlap 1.6% 7,241
Total Votes 450,832
Election results via Idaho Secretary of State

2002

Idaho Governor, 2002
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngDirk Kempthorne 56.3% 231,566
     Democratic Jerry M. Brady 41.7% 171,711
     Libertarian Daniel L.J. Adams 2% 8,187
     Independent Kevin Powers 0% 13
Total Votes 411,477
Election results via Idaho Secretary of State

Voter turnout

Political scientist Michael McDonald's United States Elections Project studied voter turnout in the 2014 election by looking at the percentage of eligible voters who headed to the polls. McDonald used voting-eligible population (VEP), or the number of eligible voters independent of their current registration status, to calculate turnout rates in each state on November 4. He also incorporated ballots cast for the highest office in each state into his calculation. He estimated that 81,687,059 ballots were cast in the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, representing 35.9 percent of the VEP.[10] By comparison, 61.6 percent of VEP voted in the 2008 presidential election and 58.2 percent of VEP voted in the 2012 presidential election.[11]

Quick facts

  • According to PBS Newshour, voter turnout in the 2014 midterms was the lowest since the 1942 midterms, which took place during the nation's involvement in World War II.[12]
  • Forty-three states and the District of Columbia did not surpass 50 percent turnout in McDonald's analysis.
  • The three states with the lowest turnout according to McDonald's analysis were Texas (28.3 percent), Tennessee (28.6 percent), and Indiana (28.8 percent).
  • Maine (58.5 percent), Wisconsin (56.5 percent), and Colorado (54.5 percent) were the three states with the highest turnout.
  • Twelve states increased voter turnout in 2014 compared to the 2010 midterm elections.[13]

Note: Information from the United States Elections Project was last updated on December 16, 2014.

Campaign finance

Comprehensive donor information for this election has been collected by Follow the Money. Based on available campaign finance records, the candidates raised a total of $6,830,320 during the election. This information was last updated on May 12, 2015.[14]

Campaign Contribution Totals
Candidate Office Result Contributions
A.J. Balukoff Democratic Party Idaho Governor Defeated $4,150,884
Butch Otter Republican Party Idaho Governor Won $2,489,671
Russ Fulcher Republican Party Idaho Governor Defeated $147,221
John T. Bujak Libertarian Party Idaho Governor Defeated $21,989
Steve Pankey Constitution Party Idaho Governor Defeated $8,827
Pro-Life (Marvin Thomas Richardson) Grey.png Idaho Governor Defeated $8,066
Walt Bayes Republican Party Idaho Governor Defeated $2,574
Jill Humble Grey.png Idaho Governor Defeated $1,088
Terry Kerr Democratic Party Idaho Governor Defeated $0
Harley D. Brown Republican Party Idaho Governor Defeated $0
Grand Total Raised $6,830,320

Key deadlines

Deadline Event
May 20, 2014 Primary election
November 4, 2014 General election
November 19, 2014 Last day for State Board of Canvassers to meet to canvass the general election
January 5, 2015 Inauguration day for state executive officials in general election

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the term "Idaho + governor + election + 2014"

Idaho Gubernatorial Election News Feed

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Idaho State Legislature, "Idaho Code § 34–904A," accessed September 3, 2025
  2. ↑ Idaho Secretary of State's Office, "Primary Elections in Idaho," accessed October 20, 2025
  3. ↑ ACLU Idaho, "2024 Your Rights as an Idaho Voter," accessed October 20, 2025
  4. ↑ Idaho Reporter, "Otter announces 2014 re-election run," December 15, 2011
  5. ↑ The Spokesman Review, "Democrat A.J. Balukoff launches Idaho governor campaign," December 4, 2013
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Idaho Secretary of State, "List of All Candidate Declarations for 2014," accessed March 15, 2014
  7. ↑ Pro-Life for Governor of Idaho 2014 Official Campaign Website, "Homepage," accessed August 12, 2013
  8. ↑ Russ Fulcher for Governor 2014 Official campaign website, "Homepage," accessed October 22, 2013
  9. ↑ ‘’Idaho Statesman,’’ “Sen. Fulcher announces run for governor,” November 24, 2013
  10. ↑ United States Elections Project, "2014 November General Election Turnout Rates," November 7, 2014
  11. ↑ TIME, "Voter Turnout in Midterm Elections Hits 72-Year Low," November 10, 2014
  12. ↑ PBS, "2014 midterm election turnout lowest in 70 years," November 10, 2014
  13. ↑ U.S. News & World Report, "Midterm Turnout Down in 2014," November 5, 2014
  14. ↑ Follow the Money, "Overview of Idaho 2014 elections," accessed May 12, 2015
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