AP: Little wins Idaho’s governor race

BOISE — The Associated Press made the call at 11 p.m. — Lt. Gov. Brad Little will become Idaho’s 33^rd governor.

With 44 percent of the precincts reporting, Little had pulled into a comfortable lead with 59 percent of the vote. Democratic challenger Paulette Jordan had captured 38 percent of the vote. This was enough of a margin for the AP with votes from the North still to be counted.

Former Idaho lawmaker Jordan was attempting to become the first native American governor in United States history and Idaho’s first female governor. She addressed Democrats at 11 p.m. during the election night party at the Grove Hotel. She was flanked by her family, including her two young sons and her mother, and she took considerable time to thank those who helped her campaign. She did not concede.

Little, 64, has served as Idaho’s lieutenant governor since January of 2009 when he was appointed to the vacancy by Gov. Butch Otter. Little was elected to the position in 2010 and 2014, earning no less than 62 percent of the vote in both election.

Jordan, 38, is a member of the North Idaho Coeur d’Alene tribe and was a two-term state lawmaker before giving up her seat to run for governor in early 2018. She defeated AJ Balukoff in the May primary. Balukoff was Idaho’s Democratic nominee in 2014 when he lost convincingly to Otter, who is retiring after three terms as Idaho’s governor.

Otter endorsed Little, a third-generation Idaho rancher and Emmett business owner. Little became the Republican nominee for Idaho governor after winning the primary over two other big-name Republicans — Boise developer and doctor Tommy Ahlquist and U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador.

Little, a 1977 graduate of the University of Idaho, started his political career in 2001 when then-Gov. Dirk Kempthorne appointed him to an open seat in Idaho’s Senate. He was elected to that position four times and in all of those elections he secured 64 percent of the vote.

Jordan’s unprecedented run to be Idaho’s governor garnered national attention. In a highly conservative state, she proposed to legalize marijuana and fight climate change. She received the endorsement of singer-actress Cher.

This article was originally posted on IdahoEdNews.org on November 6, 2018