Idaho held its general election on November 2, 2010, deciding 105 legislative seats and 7 statewide offices led by the governorship. No chamber changed party control.
Highlights
- Republicans kept every statewide office and grew their House majority from 52-18 to 57-13 while holding the Senate at 28-7, lifting their supermajority from three-quarters of the Legislature to four-fifths.
- Gov. Butch Otter (R) won a second term, beating Keith Allred (D) by about 26 points, with independent Jana Kemp (I) drawing about 6%. Otter credited Allred with "a very tough race" and said Idahoans wanted "strong conservative leadership" in tough times.
- Republicans unseated two House Democrats and flipped a Boise Senate seat. Rep. Mary Lou Shepherd (D), in the House since 1999, lost her bid for a seventh term to newcomer Shannon McMillan (R) by about 10 points in House District 2. In House District 7, Jeff Nesset (R) unseated Rep. Liz Chavez (D) by about 9 points. In the Senate, Mitch Toryanski (R) narrowly beat Rep. Branden Durst (D) by about 100 votes in Senate District 18, the seat Minority Leader Kate Kelly had held.
- In all, 7 legislative seats changed party, all but one toward Republicans. The others were three open Democratic House seats and one Senate seat Democrats picked up:
- The six other statewide incumbents all won; Attorney General Lawrence Wasden (R) and Treasurer Ron Crane (R) ran unopposed. The closest was schools chief Tom Luna (R), who beat Stan Olson (D) by about 21 points.
- Voters approved all 4 constitutional amendments the Legislature referred: SJR 101 on University of Idaho tuition, HJR 4 on hospital debt, HJR 7 on municipal electric debt, and HJR 5 on airport debt. The airport measure was the closest, at about 53% yes.
Legislature
- House (70 seats): 18 D, 52 R before the election, 13 D, 57 R after; control stayed with Republicans.
- Senate (35 seats): 7 D, 28 R before the election, 7 D, 28 R after; control stayed with Republicans.
Statewide races
Legislative races
Ballot measures
| Measure | Description | Result |
|---|
| HJR 4 | | Passed (63% yes) |
| HJR 5 | | Passed (53% yes) |
| HJR 7 | | Passed (57% yes) |
| SJR 101 | | Passed (64% yes) |