Republican Risch reelected to 4th term over independent Achilles in one of tightest races of incumbent’s Senate career

BOISE — Idaho voters handed U.S. Sen. Jim Risch a fourth term on Tuesday, sending the Republican incumbent back to Washington, D.C., with a double-digit victory at around 56% of the vote, but a historically narrow margin of victory for the Gem State political mainstay.

With a commanding lead just after 11 p.m. local time, Risch, 83, a Boise resident endorsed by President Donald Trump, declared victory at an election night party for the Idaho GOP at the Courtyard by Marriott hotel in Meridian.

“How would you people like some good news?” Risch told attendees from the podium. “Idaho is still Idaho. It’s nights like this when you really, really appreciate living here in Idaho.”

With the victory, Risch earned another six-year term that runs through 2032, but did it at below the 60%-or-better vote total to which GOP federal incumbents have become accustomed. Independent candidate Todd Achilles, 58, of Boise, who was his closest opponent with about 36% of the vote, conceded about 15 minutes later.

Independent candidate Natalie Fleming, 55, of Meridian, and Libertarian Party nominee Matt Loesby, 35, of Eagle, combined to win nearly 10% of the vote. The race had no Democrat on the ballot after perennial candidate and Idaho Falls resident David Roth, 45, withdrew from the race in July.

Risch, a former Idaho governor, raised nearly $4 million this election cycle, while Achilles, an Army veteran, brought in about $2 million to help mount a competitive race against the longtime incumbent. Neither Loesby nor Fleming reported raising campaign funds, per federal election filings.

During the campaign, Achilles targeted Risch’s age and half-century in political office, as well as his unwillingness to debate and lack of scheduled public events for constituents. Risch, meanwhile, labeled Achilles a Boise Democrat who ran as an independent to win a broader share of the electorate.

Achilles, a former telecom executive and one-term Democratic state lawmaker, conceded the race in front of a crowd of supporters at ICONIC event space in Garden City. But he said he was proud of the campaign they ran, with about 9,000 different donors

“We’ve accomplished a hell of a lot. The numbers clearly didn’t go the way we wanted. “I think the most important thing, though, is there is clearly demand among Idahoans for something new. I think people are fed up with the two-party system; it’s not working, and this is the beginning of something much, much bigger.”

In Idaho’s other two federal races, fellow GOP incumbent U.S. Reps. Mike Simpson and Russ Fulcher each won their bid for reelection. Members of the U.S. House of Representatives serve two-year terms. Simpson first won election to Congress in 1998, and Fulcher two decades later in 2018.

The House results, combined with Risch’s victory in the Senate, mean the undefeated streak continues for Idaho Republicans in federal elections dating back to 2010. Former U.S. Rep. Walt Minnick, D-Idaho, was the last non-Republican from the state to hold federal office after he won a single term in 2008.

Voters on Tuesday granted Simpson, 76, of Idaho Falls, a 15th term to represent Idaho’s 2nd Congressional District, which encompasses Central and Eastern Idaho and most of Boise. With 50% of the vote, Simpson coasted to victory over Democratic challenger Ellie Gilbreath, 64, of Ketchum; independent candidates Emre Houser, 50, of Boise, and Tripp Hutchinson, 27, of Ketchum; and Libertarian Party nominee Will Johanson, 33, of Boise. Gilbreath was Simpson’s closest opponent with about 42% of the vote.

Fulcher, 64, of Meridian, won a fifth term to represent Idaho’s 1st Congressional District, which traverses the state’s western half, including the Panhandle and a part of Ada County. With about 62.5% of the vote at press time, Fulcher handily defeated Democratic opponent Kaylee Peterson, 36, of Eagle, for the third consecutive election, who received about 30.6% of the vote. He also beat independent candidate Sarah Zabel, 61, of Bayview, and Constitution Party nominee Brendan J. Gomez, 27, of Boise.

Gomez was arrested in July and charged with 10 felony counts of possessing child pornography, according to court records, but remained on the ballot. In a plea agreement, he pleaded guilty to two of the counts and remains in custody at the Ada County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bail. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 16.

Risch, Simpson and Fulcher each will be sworn in for their next terms on Jan. 3, 2027, as the 120th U.S. Congress convenes.