‘Trump bump’ in Idaho helps Republicans in state, county races, especially Ada County
By Scott McIntosh, Opinion editor
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If there’s any indication of why Republican politicians, particularly in Idaho, stick with their main man, Donald Trump, through thick and thin, Tuesday’s election is it.
Idaho appears to have experienced a “Trump bump,” sending Republicans to victories in state legislative and county commission races.
Nearly 150,000 more Idahoans voted for Donald Trump this year than did in 2016.
As of Thursday’s unofficial tally from the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office, 554,019 Idahoans voted for Trump. Compare that to 2016, when Trump received 409,055 votes in Idaho.
Some would-be Trump voters in 2016 may have voted for Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson or independent candidate Evan McMullin. Still, those two candidates combined accounted for only 74,807 votes, or about 11% of the total.
Even taking that into consideration, it’s clear that tens of thousands of Idahoans who did not vote for Trump or didn’t vote at all in 2016 showed up to vote for Trump this time around.
Please read my full column on the impact that may have had on down-ballot races here.
State Legislature gets even redder
The makeup of Idaho’s Legislature turned even redder after Tuesday’s election, with Republicans picking up two more seats in the House, extending their majority to 58 seats to the Democrats’ 12.
Republicans flipped a House seat in Boise’s purple District 15, and in legislative District 29 in Bannock County, Democratic incumbent Rep. Chris Abernathy lost to Republican challenger Dustin Manwaring by 1,400 votes.
In District 15, the Democrats had a chance to turn the entire legislative contingent blue, but by the end of the night, District 15 got redder.
Incumbent Republican Sen. Fred Martin was able to win a fifth term despite a strong challenge and close race from Democrat Rick Just.
Two years ago, Martin barely defeated Democrat Jim Bratnober by just six votes, giving Democrats hope that they could win that seat this year.
This year, Martin received 12,009 votes, or 53%, while Just received 10,654 votes, or 47%.
In the House for District 15, incumbent Democrat Rep. Steve Berch was able to hold off a Republican challenger, but fellow Democrat Rep. Jake Ellis lost to Republican challenger Codi Galloway, a former public school teacher and the owner of a private school, turning District 15 a little redder.
Please read my full column on other legislative races by clicking here.
The Greater State of Idaho
Over in Oregon, four counties — Union, Douglas, Wallowa and Jefferson — had measures on the ballot asking voters their opinion on moving state boundaries to create a “Greater Idaho” state.
Voters in Jefferson and Union counties expressed support, while voters in Douglas and Wallowa voiced opposition to the idea.
Please read more about the vote totals by clicking here.
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This story was originally published November 6, 2020 at 12:00 AM.
