Idaho Republicans face internal challenges as hardliners challenge moderate incumbents in Tuesday's primary.

Idaho joins six other states for primary elections on Tuesday. This solidly red state sits in the northwest near the Canadian border.

Republicans have dominated Idaho politics since 1974. No Democrat has served in the U.S. Senate there since that year.

The last Democrat elected to federal office was Representative Walt Minnick in 2008. He served only a single term.

Tuesday's primary results will likely determine November's general election outcomes. Republican winners are expected to secure victory easily.

However, these votes also signal the future of the GOP under President Donald Trump.

Many races feature hardline conservatives challenging moderate incumbents. This trend defines the state's upcoming political landscape.

Polls open at 8am and close at 8pm local time. The window runs from 14:00 GMT on May 19 to 02:00 GMT on May 20.

Idaho holds two seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. The state also has one open seat in the U.S. Senate.

Statewide races include the governor's office and several local positions.

Governor Brad Little, a 72-year-old rancher, seeks a third term. He faces seven challengers in the Republican primary.

Only one challenger, Ron James, holds an elected office as a county commissioner. The others are largely unknown.

Mark Fitzpatrick, a retired police officer and business owner, leads the opposition. He has raised more funds than his rivals.

Fitzpatrick calls himself a "bold culture warrior." He has secured endorsements at the county level to unseat Little.

His platform is significantly harder than Little's. He labeled the governor a "traitor" for managing an "illegal immigrant invasion."

Fitzpatrick also organized a "Hetero Awesomeness Fest" last year. This event targeted LGBTQ Pride events in response.

Four candidates are running for the Democratic nomination. Their prospects remain uncertain in this red state.

Among the field of candidates, former public defender Terri Pickens stands out as the best-funded contender in her race, having raised contributions that exceed those of her competitors by a factor of ten or more.

Idaho currently holds two congressional districts. The first district stretches from the Canadian border down the western side of the state, while the second district encompasses the southeastern corner, including the state capital, Boise.

The western area constitutes Idaho's first congressional district, currently represented by Republican businessman Russ Fulcher. He is facing two challengers in this primary season; however, as of April 29, neither challenger had reported significant campaign contributions to the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

Kaylee Peterson enters the Democratic primary for the same district with a substantial fundraising advantage ahead of the May election.

In Idaho's second congressional district, incumbent Mike Simpson, a former dentist, is campaigning for his 15th term in the U.S. House of Representatives. The 75-year-old has held the office since 1999. According to the Idaho Capital Sun, Simpson has already spent over $600,000 on his campaign. Only one of his challengers, Perry Shumway, has raised sufficient funds to report to the FEC, with $5,291.98 recorded by the end of April.

In the Democratic primary for the second district, Ellie Gilbreath is running unopposed, as her only competitor has withdrawn from the race, per her website.

Regarding the Senate primary, former Idaho governor Jim Risch is seeking a fourth term in the Senate during the midterm elections. In January, Risch secured an endorsement from President Trump, who described the Idaho politician as one of his "strongest allies" in the Senate.

Risch faces opposition, yet the Republican primary for his seat has already seen spending levels higher than many other races in the state. As with the other contests, the incumbent's campaign finances dwarf those of his three challengers. His political action committee (PAC) has expended more than $1 million, a sum vastly exceeding that of his closest rival, Josh Roy, who reported roughly $23,500 in expenses according to the latest FEC data.

Among the three candidates vying for the Democratic nomination, only David Roth has reported more than $5,000 in contributions to the FEC during the last reporting period. Roth, a nonprofit worker, identifies as the first openly gay candidate to receive a statewide nomination in Idaho.

Why do these races matter? Recent years have seen Idaho's primary contests expose fractures within the Republican Party, specifically between traditional conservatives and far-right challengers. President Trump has inserted himself into several of these races, effectively using the primaries to test his influence over the party.

For instance, during Idaho's last gubernatorial primaries in 2022, Governor Little faced a vigorous challenge from his Trump-endorsed lieutenant governor, Janice McGeachin. At that time, Little had alienated Trump's Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement by accommodating certain COVID-19 restrictions. McGeachin opposed those measures, and while Little was out of the state in 2021, she utilized her position as lieutenant governor to sign an executive order banning mask mandates. Little repealed the order upon his return, sparking the primary showdown.

Although Trump endorsed McGeachin, Little won the 2022 contest. However, the governor has done little to challenge Trump in the years since. In 2025, he signed into law a bill passed by Idaho's legislature that bans mask mandates. This move was one of several policy pivots that helped the incumbent secure Trump's endorsement this election cycle.

The incumbents for Idaho's U.S. House and Senate seats have all received Trump's endorsement. This alignment suggests there may be few surprises on primary day, a sentiment echoed by Kevin Richert of Idaho Education News, who noted that "Idaho's statewide primary elections could be dull."

Despite the apparent security of the incumbent candidates, the outcome is not entirely settled. The potential for independent voters to upset primary winners remains a variable, especially given that Idaho has not seen a Democratic governor since 1995.

Securing a Republican primary victory does not guarantee a smooth path to the November midterm elections. Following the conclusion of the primary contests, both Democratic and Republican gubernatorial nominees must confront John Stegner in the general election. The former Idaho Supreme Court judge is entering the race as an independent, meaning his name will not appear on any primary ballots. His campaign displays significant momentum, having raised funds in just three months that surpassed the total raised by the leading Democratic candidate over two years. This financial surge caused considerable surprise among observers in March. However, independent candidacies impact more than just the governor's race. Incumbent Senator Jim Risch will likely face another independent challenger, former State Representative Todd Achilles, on the November ballot. Achilles has been actively soliciting donations for his campaign. He even released a poll suggesting he could defeat Risch, though the validity of that survey was questioned due to its sponsorship by Achilles's own campaign.