Idaho held its general election on November 8, 2022, deciding 105 legislative seats and 7 statewide offices led by the governorship. No chamber changed party control.
Highlights
- Republicans kept two-thirds majorities in both chambers, so the real change was in who fills them: Idaho Reports counted a 47.6 percent turnover rate after retirements and primary losses, with the Speaker's chair opening as well.
- Gov. Brad Little (R) won a second term with about 61% of the vote. Independent Ammon Bundy (I), whom Idaho Reports described as a prominent anti-government activist, took about 17%, the strongest showing outside the major parties in an Idaho governor's race since 1926, and finished only a few points behind Democrat Stephen Heidt (D).
- Democrats traded seats rather than losing ground in the Senate. Dan Foreman (R) unseated Sen. David Nelson (D) by about 430 votes in Senate District 6, and Republicans swept that district's seats, leaving Latah County without a Democratic legislator. In Senate District 15, Rick Just (D) picked up the open seat by about 330 votes over Rep. Codi Galloway (R). In the House, Democrats came out one seat down. The new District 26 split: Ron Taylor (D) won the Senate seat over Rep. Laurie Lickley (R), and appointed Rep. Ned Burns (D) held a House seat by fewer than 40 votes, but Jack Nelsen (R) took the other by fewer than 100 votes.
- Republicans won all 7 statewide offices. Little, Treasurer Julie Ellsworth (R), and Controller Brandon Woolf (R) were re-elected. Four offices with no incumbent on the ballot went to new Republican officeholders: Scott Bedke (R), the outgoing House Speaker, as lieutenant governor; Raul Labrador (R) as attorney general; Phil McGrane (R) as secretary of state; and Debbie Critchfield (R) as superintendent of public instruction. House Republicans later chose Mike Moyle to succeed Bedke as Speaker.
- Nelson was the only incumbent to lose re-election in November, though two sitting Republican House members, Galloway and Lickley, lost bids to move up to the Senate.
- Voters approved both statewide questions. SJR 102 lets the Legislature call itself into special session on a written request from 60% of each chamber. Former Gov. Butch Otter had argued against it, and the yes and no totals hovered within 1,000 votes for much of election night before it passed with about 52%. The nonbinding advisory question on a flat-tax and rebate bill passed with about 80%.
Legislature
- House (70 seats): 12 D, 58 R before the election, 11 D, 59 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 |
|---|
| Advisory Ballot | Advise the Legislature on a bill to enact a flat income and corporate tax structure, send tax rebates to qualifying taxpayers, and dedicate an annual $400 million to education | Passed (80% yes) |
| Constitutional Amendment SJR 102 | Allow the Senate president and House speaker to convene a special legislative session upon receiving a joint written request from 60% of each chamber's legislators | Passed (52% yes) |