2014 Idaho gubernatorial election

For related races, see 2014 United States gubernatorial elections.

2014 Idaho gubernatorial election

November 4, 2014

Nominee Butch Otter A.J. Balukoff Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 235,405 169,556 Percentage 53.52% 38.55%

County results Otter:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Balukoff:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

Governor before election Butch Otter Republican Elected Governor Butch Otter Republican

The 2014 Idaho gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 2014, to elect the governor of Idaho, concurrently with the election to Idaho's Class II U.S. Senate seat, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.

Incumbent Republican governor Butch Otter ran for election to a third consecutive term in office.^[1] In primary elections held on May 20, 2014, Otter was renominated and the Democrats nominated businessman and president of the Boise School District Board of Trustees A.J. Balukoff. Otter defeated Balukoff and four Independent and Third Party challengers in the general election.

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

• Walt Bayes, perennial candidate^[2]
• Harley Brown, candidate for Idaho's 1st congressional district in 2000 and 2010 and candidate for Mayor of Boise in 2001^[2]
• Russ Fulcher, state senator and future U.S. representative for Idaho's 1st congressional district^[3]
• Butch Otter, incumbent governor^[1]

Declined

• Raúl Labrador, U.S. representative^[4]
• Brad Little, Lieutenant Governor of Idaho^[5]
• Tom Luna, Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction^[6]
• Rex Rammell, activist, veterinarian and candidate for governor in 2010^[7]
• Lawrence Wasden, Attorney General of Idaho^[8]

Endorsements

Russ Fulcher

• Raúl Labrador, U.S. representative^[9]

Results

Results by county:

  Otter

•   40–50%
•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%

  Fulcher

•   40–50%
•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%

Republican primary results^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Butch Otter (incumbent)	79,786	51.36
	Republican	Russ Fulcher	67,702	43.59
	Republican	Harley Brown	5,084	3.27
	Republican	Walt Bayes	2,761	1.78
Total votes			155,333	100

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

• A.J. Balukoff, businessman and president of the Boise School District Board of Trustees^[11]
• Terry Kerr, former Republican candidate for local office^[2]

Declined

• Keith G. Allred, activist, mediator and nominee for governor in 2010^[12]
• Cecil D. Andrus, former governor and former United States Secretary of the Interior^[13]
• David H. Bieter, Mayor of Boise^[14][11]

Endorsements

A.J. Balukoff

• Tommy Ahlquist, developer^[15]

Results

Results by county:

  Balukoff

•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%

  Kerr

•   50–60%
•   60–70%

Democratic primary results^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	A.J. Balukoff	16,753	65.33
	Democratic	Terry Kerr	8,890	34.67
Total votes			25,643	100

Constitution nomination

Candidates

Declared

• Steven Pankey, Republican candidate for lieutenant governor in 2010^[2]

Libertarian nomination

Candidates

Declared

• John Bujak, former Canyon County prosecutor^[16]

Independents

Candidates

Declared

• Jill Humble, retired nurse educator and candidate for Boise City Council in 2013^[2]
• Pro-Life (formerly known as Marvin Richardson), organic strawberry farmer, anti-abortion activist and perennial candidate^[17]

General election

Debates

A debate was held between Balukoff & Bujak. Gov. Otter chose not to participate.

• Complete video of debate, September 24, 2014 - C-SPAN

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[18]	Solid R	November 3, 2014
Sabato's Crystal Ball[19]	Likely R	November 3, 2014
Rothenberg Political Report[20]	Likely R	November 3, 2014
Real Clear Politics[21]	Likely R	November 3, 2014

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Butch Otter (R)	A.J. Balukoff (D)	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling[22]	October 30–November 2, 2014	1,001	± 3.1%	49%	37%	10%[23]	5%
				55%	42%	—	3%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov[24]	October 16–23, 2014	575	± 6%	53%	35%	2%	10%
Public Policy Polling[25]	October 9–12, 2014	522	± 4.3%	39%	35%	12%[26]	14%
				47%	38%	—	15%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov[27]	September 20–October 1, 2014	594	± 5%	57%	33%	1%	9%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov[28]	August 18–September 2, 2014	844	± 4%	51%	33%	3%	13%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov[29]	July 5–24, 2014	691	± 4.2%	56%	34%	4%	7%
Rasmussen Reports[30]	May 28–29, 2014	750	± 4%	50%	36%	8%	7%

Results

Idaho gubernatorial election, 2014^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Butch Otter (incumbent)	235,405	53.52%	−5.59%
	Democratic	A.J. Balukoff	169,556	38.55%	+5.70%
	Libertarian	John Bujak	17,884	4.07%	+2.77%
	Independent	Jill Humble	8,801	2.00%	N/A
	Constitution	Steve Pankey	5,219	1.19%	N/A
	Independent	Pro-Life	2,870	0.65%	−0.20%
	n/a	Write-ins	95	0.02%	N/A
Total votes			'439,830'	'100.0%'	N/A
	Republican hold

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Ada (largest municipality: Boise)
• Bannock (largest municipality: Pocatello)

References

1. Dvorak, Todd (August 6, 2013). "Otter taps industry lobbyist to run re-election campaign". KBOI-TV. Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 22, 2014. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
2. Sewell, Cynthia (March 15, 2014). "Nine vie to be next Idaho governor". Idaho Statesman. Archived from the original on March 17, 2014. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
3. Popkey, Dan (November 20, 2013). "Bank on it: Fulcher will announce challenge to Gov. Otter in Saturday fly-around". Idaho Statesman. Archived from the original on November 22, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
4. "Idaho U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador Plans 2014 Re-Election Run For Congress". Boise State Public Radio. Associated Press. August 14, 2013. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
5. "Lt. Gov. Brad Little to seek re-election in 2014". Times-News. Associated Press. September 18, 2013. Archived from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2013.
6. "Luna won't commit on 2014 run for governor, denies seeking national education post". IdahoReporter.com. December 15, 2011. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
7. Prentice, George (June 14, 2012). "Rex Rammell 'Gives Up on Idaho,' Leaving State | citydesk". Boiseweekly.com. Archived from the original on October 4, 2013. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
8. Popkey, Dan (September 16, 2013). "Wasden says he'll seek record fourth term as Idaho attorney general". Idaho Statesman. Archived from the original on September 26, 2013. Retrieved October 20, 2013.
9. "Raul Labrador backs Russ Fulcher for Idaho governor". The Spokesman-Review. May 13, 2014. Archived from the original on May 17, 2014. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
10. "*** UNOFFICIAL *** 2014 – Primary Election Statewide Totals". Idaho Secretary of State. Archived from the original on February 20, 2015. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
11. Popkey, Dan. "Democrat Balukoff joins race for governor" Idaho Statesman, December 3, 2013. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. (accessed December 3, 2013)
12. "Keith is not planning on running in 2014". Allredforidaho.com. July 17, 2013. Archived from the original on October 5, 2013. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
13. "Cecil Andrus: Idaho not doing enough for children". Idahopress.com. October 13, 2013. Archived from the original on November 11, 2013. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
14. "Democrat Bieter wanted to hear GOP Speaker Boehner, backed Simpson in 2010". Idaho Statesman. August 29, 2013. Archived from the original on September 20, 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
15. "3408 scanned" (PDF). 2014. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
16. "Former prosecutor Bujak running for Idaho governor". Krem.com. March 14, 2014. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
17. "Deputize armed volunteers to protect schools, says perennial Idaho candidate Pro-Life". Idaho Statesman. December 17, 2012. Archived from the original on November 22, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
18. "2014 Governor Race Ratings for November 3, 2014". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
19. "The Crystal Ball's Final 2014 Picks". Sabato's Crystal Ball. November 3, 2014. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
20. "2014 Gubernatorial Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
21. "2014 Elections Map - 2014 Governors Races". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
22. Public Policy Polling
23. John Bujak (L) 5%, Jill Humble (I) 1%, Pro Life (I) 2%, Steve Pankey (C) 2%
24. CBS News/NYT/YouGov
25. Public Policy Polling
26. John Bujak (L) 4%, Jill Humble (I) 3%, Pro Life (I) 3%, Steve Pankey (C) 2%
27. CBS News/NYT/YouGov
28. CBS News/NYT/YouGov
29. CBS News/NYT/YouGov
30. Rasmussen Reports
31. "Statewide Totals".

External links

• Idaho gubernatorial election, 2014 at Ballotpedia
• Campaign contributions at FollowTheMoney

Official campaign websites (Archived)

• Butch Otter for Governor incumbent
• Russ Fulcher for Governor
• A.J. Balukoff for Governor
• Steve Pankey for Governor
• Pro-Life for Governor