RESULTS: Idaho Gov. Brad Little faces a Trump-backed primary challenge from Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin
AP Photo/Otto Kitsinger, File
Idaho is holding gubernatorial primaries on Tuesday. Polls close at 8 p.m. local time.
The races & the stakes:
Incumbent Gov. Brad Little is facing a primary challenge from his own Lieutenant Governor Janice McGeachin, who is endorsed by former President Donald Trump.
The Republican faceoff marks the first time since 1938 that a sitting governor has been challenged by a lieutenant governor of the same party, according to the Idaho Press. They are the most notable among eight contenders vying for the GOP nomination.
Little, a former sheep and cattle rancher, is focusing his reelection campaign on his record of "cutting red tape," lowering taxes, opposition to Covid mandates, and education investments. He was the first governor to sign legislation barring transgender girls from female sports and to legalize asking athletes to undergo sex testing to compete.
McGeachin, a business owner and Idaho's first female lieutenant governor, has "sparked controversy over her repeated interactions with fringe, extremist and racist figures," Kevin Fixler wrote for the Idaho Statesman. Like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, McGeachin appeared in February at the white nationalist America First Political Action Conference in Orlando, where she thanked those in attendance for "joining our efforts."
McGeachin campaigned to Little's right, promoting her endorsement from Trump and MAGA bona fides, and clashing with him over pandemic restrictions she argued were too strict.
She encouraged businesses to violate his stay-home public safety order in 2020, according to the Idaho Capital Sun. While serving as acting governor, she twice issued COVID-related executive orders, one banning all mask mandates and another banning COVID-19 testing and vaccinations at schools. Little, who deferred to local control, repealed them when he returned to the state.
"Election integrity" is part of her platform. She told the Idaho Statesman she thinks Trump beat President Joe Biden, and she's called for a 50-state audit of the 2020 election "so that Americans can know, once and for all, what really happened," she says on her website. Little also says he plans for audits and new resources to protect against cyber attacks.
McGeachin, who previously served in the Idaho House of Representatives, called on Little to reconvene the Idaho state legislature to pass a "more comprehensive" abortion ban. She argued Idaho's current abortion "trigger law" — designed to take effect if the landmark Roe v. Wade decision is overturned — has too many exceptions.
The law bans abortions in all cases except if the life of the pregnant woman is in danger or the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest that was reported to authorities.
"It is shameful that Idaho's abortion laws are not the most pro-life in our country," she said in a statement.
In 2020, Trump won the state by 31 percentage points. Republicans have controlled the statehouse and governor's office since 1995, according to Ballotpedia. Idaho has elected Republicans in the last seven gubernatorial elections.
Democrats hoping to change that include former US Army National Guardsman Stephen Heidt and two write-in candidates. But election observers rate the race as "solid" or "safe" Republican.