Polls have closed in Idaho Legislature races. Here’s what we know
Hours after the polls closed in Tuesday’s Republican primary election, several far-right incumbent candidates lagged behind moderate challengers in the polls.
As of 11 p.m., Sen. Glenneda Zuiderveld, R-Twin Falls, was losing to challenger Brent Reinke, a former Twin Falls County commissioner and director of Idaho Department of Correction, with about 40% of the vote. Reinke had about 59%.
Rep. Lucas Cayler, R-Nampa, was behind challenger Debbie Geyer with about 47% of the vote compared with her 53%.
Rep. David Leavitt, R-Twin Falls, had about 47% of the vote compared with challenger Cherie Vollmer’s 53%.
Sen. Christy Zito, R-Mountain Home, lagged behind challenger Megan Blanksma, with 32% of the vote compared with Blanksma’s 37%. Blanksma previously served in the Idaho House. Challenger Terry Gestrin had 31%.
The state’s legislative races were marked by fierce competition against incumbent far-right politicians. In deep-red Idaho, the closed Republican primary determines who will win many of the races in the general election in November.
As of Monday, several more moderate Republican challengers were beating incumbents on fundraising. In a state with little reliable polling data, money raised is often a proxy for candidates’ likely success.
After a legislative session marked by budget shortages and cuts to government programs across the state, six members of the Legislature’s so-called “Gang of 8” — a group of hardline conservative lawmakers who oppose new government spending — lagged behind challengers in fundraising.
- Zito had raised about $27,000 compared with Blanksma’s $34,000.
- Zuiderveld had raised about $58,000, compared with Reinke’s $80,000.
- Rep. Faye Thompson, R-McCall, had raised about $21,000, compared with challenger Brian Beckley’s $68,000.
- Rep. Clint Hostetler, R-Twin Falls, had raised about $35,000, compared with challenger Alexandra Caval’s $56,000.
- Leavitt had raised about $27,000 compared with Vollmer’s $44,000.
- Cayler had raised about $39,000 compared with Geyer’s $40,000.
In North Idaho, moderate Republican Rep. Lori McCann, R-Lewiston, challenged far-right Sen. Dan Foreman for his Senate seat. She told the Idaho Statesman that he was unwilling to meet with her and that he “doesn’t respond” to constituents. As of Tuesday, her campaign had out-raised his by a large margin. As of 11 p.m. Tuesday, Foreman was leading, with about 57% of the vote.
Rep. Elaine Price, R-Coeur d’Alene, faced a challenge from Christa Hazel, a volunteer with the North Idaho Republicans — a group that opposes the official Republican central committee in Kootenai County. The committee has vocally opposed Hazel, and in November posted her personal information, including her Social Security number, on social media. As of 11 p.m. Tuesday, Price was leading with about 54% of the vote to Hazel’s 46%.
It was an election that saw new spending tactics scaled up: Sitting lawmaker Rep. Jordan Redman, R-Coeur d’Alene, donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to a political action committee that supported hard-right lawmakers using a type of campaign funding that has no limits. Much of that spending went toward campaign ads that supported the opponents of his current colleagues in the Legislature.
Observers said the pattern of lawmakers he supported — and opposed — suggested that Redman aimed to move the Legislature further to the right.
“It really looks like … there’s a goal here of that political influence to shape — to help ensure the Legislature reflects the ideological or political goals that this (political action committee) would align with,” Jaclyn Kettler, a political science professor at Boise State, told the Statesman.
This story was originally published May 19, 2026 at 10:30 PM.
