BOISE, Idaho — The Associated Press projected Tuesday night that Idaho Republican Gov. Brad Little has earned another term.
The AP called the race for Little minutes after polls closed. Pre-election polling and research on candidates’ electoral history help the AP call races quickly.
Initial results on the Idaho secretary of state’s website showed Little leading with 59.9% of the votes. Democrat Stephen Heidt, a retired teacher, so far has received the second-most votes, with 30.5% support, and independent Ammon Bundy, a conservative activist and militia leader, in third with 8.2% of votes.
Little, 68, has quietly campaigned on his record. He’s cut taxes and used the state’s surplus revenue to boost funding for public schools and infrastructure projects. He’s promised more of the same in a second term.
Little’s first term has been marked by the COVID-19 pandemic and conservative social policies, including the state’s near-total abortion ban — which Little supported. Heidt campaigned on promising to secure bodily autonomy for pregnant women, while Bundy criticized Little’s 2020 coronavirus policies, such as ordering some businesses to close early in the pandemic.
Also running for governor were Libertarian Paul Sand and Chantyrose Davison, of the Constitution Party.
In 2018, three in five Idaho voters selected Little over former Democratic Idaho House member Paulette Jordan, who collected 38% of the vote behind high name recognition, something Heidt lacked.
Before becoming governor, Little served as lieutenant governor and as a state senator. A rancher, Little entered politics through agriculture and business lobbying.
Little handily defeated Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin in the May GOP primary.
The Republican Governors Association congratulated Little on Tuesday.
“Governor Brad Little is leading Idaho to a bright and prosperous future thanks to his commonsense solutions like record tax cuts that have unleashed unprecedented economic growth,” Governors Doug Ducey, of Arizona, and Pete Ricketts, of Nebraska, said in a news release.
Idaho governors serve four-year terms.
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