Brad Little
2019 - Present
2027
5
Brad Little (Republican Party) is the Governor of Idaho. He assumed office on January 7, 2019. His current term ends on January 4, 2027.
Little (Republican Party) is running for re-election for Governor of Idaho. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.
Little received a B.S. in agribusiness from the University of Idaho in 1977. He managed his family's farming and cattle operation businesses called Little Land and Livestock for thirty years. In 2009, he handed managerial duties of Little Land and Livestock to his son.[1]
Little's political career began with an appointment to the Idaho State Senate in 2001. He remained in the Senate until he was appointed Lieutenant Governor of Idaho in 2009 to fill a vacancy caused by Jim Risch's (R) election to the U.S. Senate. He was re-elected as lieutenant governor in both 2010 and 2014.
Little was elected governor in 2018. In the primary election, he defeated then-U.S. Rep. Raúl Labrador (R) 37.3%-32.6%. Business executive Tommy Ahlquist (R) finished third in the primary with 26.2%. In the general election, he defeated former state Rep. Paulette E. Jordan (D) 59.8%-38.2%. Little succeeded three-term Gov. Butch Otter (R).[2]
Little defeated then-Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin (R) in the 2022 gubernatorial primary 52.8%-32.2%. The two candidates disagreed over the state's responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, including stay-at-home orders and vaccination and testing requirements. Twice, when Little left the state on official business, McGeachin used her powers as acting governor to rescind Little's executive orders. To read more about Little and McGeachin's conflicts, click here. Little defeated Stephen Heidt (D) in the general election 60.5%-20.3%.
In his 2024 state of the state address, Little identified funding for school facilities as his top priority for the legislative session. Little signed House Bill 521 on April 2, which allocated $2.0 billion in total funding across 10 years for school facility projects across the state. In a statement, Little said, “Together, we secured the largest-ever investment in school facilities funding in state history while giving families back more of their hard-earned money with property and income tax relief.”[3]
Little's profile on the Idaho GOP website identifies him as "a lifelong conservative." On that same profile, Little said his top three issues were: "[T]o make Idaho the best place to live, do business, and raise a family. ... working with law enforcement and communities in new ways to fight the influence of Mexico drug cartels in our state ... And we’re going to keep on cutting red tape in the years ahead."[4]
Biography
Little was born on February 15, 1954, in Emmett, Idaho. He received a B.S. in agribusiness from the University of Idaho in 1977. He managed his family's farming and cattle operation businesses called Little Land and Livestock for thirty years, before handing managerial duties to his son, David, in 2009.[1]
Gov. Dirk Kempthorne (R) appointed Little to fill a state senate vacancy in 2001. He served in the senate until Gov. Butch Otter (R) appointed him to replace Jim Risch (R) as lieutenant governor in 2009, a position he occupied until becoming governor in 2019.[5]
Political career
Governor of Idaho (2019-present)
Little was first elected governor of Idaho in 2018. He assumed office in January 2019.
Lieutenant governor of Idaho (2009-2019)
Little was the 42nd lieutenant governor of Idaho. He assumed this position on January 6, 2009, following his appointment to fill the vacancy left by Jim Risch. Little ran for election in 2014. He won the Republican nomination in the primary on May 20, 2014, and won the general election on November 4, 2014. He did not seek re-election in 2018.
Idaho State Senate (2001-2009)
Before becoming lieutenant governor, Little represented District 11 in the Idaho State Senate from May 2001 until 2009.[5]
Elections
2026
See also: Idaho gubernatorial election, 2026
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
General election for Governor of Idaho
Incumbent Brad Little, Stephen Heidt, Terri Pickens Manweiler, Jordan Chirat, and Ammon Bundy are running in the general election for Governor of Idaho on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Brad Little (R) | ||
| Stephen Heidt (D) | ||
| Terri Pickens Manweiler (D) | ||
 | Jordan Chirat (R) | |
| Ammon Bundy (Independent) | ||
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2022
See also: Idaho gubernatorial election, 2022
General election
General election for Governor of Idaho
The following candidates ran in the general election for Governor of Idaho on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Brad Little (R) | 60.5 | 358,598 | |
| Stephen Heidt (D) | 20.3 | 120,160 | ||
| Ammon Bundy (Independent) | 17.2 | 101,835 | ||
| Paul Sand (L) | 1.1 | 6,714 | ||
| Chantyrose Davison (Constitution Party) | 0.9 | 5,250 | ||
| Lisa Marie (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 46 | ||
| Total votes: 592,603 | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Robert Dempsey (Independent)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Governor of Idaho
Stephen Heidt defeated Shelby Rognstad and David Reilly in the Democratic primary for Governor of Idaho on May 17, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Stephen Heidt | 78.8 | 25,088 | |
| Shelby Rognstad (Write-in) | 21.2 | 6,736 | ||
| David Reilly (Write-in) | 0.1 | 21 | ||
| Total votes: 31,845 | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Melissa Sue Robinson (D)
- Bob Dempsay (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Governor of Idaho
The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Governor of Idaho on May 17, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Brad Little | 52.8 | 148,843 | |
| Janice McGeachin | 32.2 | 90,857 | ||
| Ed Humphreys | 11.0 | 30,878 | ||
| Steven Bradshaw | 1.9 | 5,470 | ||
| Ashley Jackson | 1.1 | 3,172 | ||
| Lisa Marie | 0.4 | 1,120 | ||
| Ben Cannady | 0.3 | 804 | |
| Cody Usabel | 0.2 | 680 | |
| Total votes: 281,824 | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Chris Hammond (R)
- Jeff Cotton (R)
Constitution primary election
Constitution primary for Governor of Idaho
Chantyrose Davison defeated Ryan Cole in the Constitution primary for Governor of Idaho on May 17, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Chantyrose Davison | 61.9 | 346 | |
| Ryan Cole (Write-in) | 3.9 | 22 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 34.2 | 191 | ||
| Total votes: 559 | ||||
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Libertarian primary election
Libertarian primary for Governor of Idaho
Paul Sand defeated John Dionne Jr. in the Libertarian primary for Governor of Idaho on May 17, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Paul Sand | 60.2 | 427 | |
| John Dionne Jr. | 39.8 | 282 | |
| Total votes: 709 | ||||
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2018
- See also: Idaho gubernatorial election, 2018
General election
General election for Governor of Idaho
Brad Little defeated Paulette Jordan, Bev Boeck, and Walter Bayes in the general election for Governor of Idaho on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Brad Little (R) | 59.8 | 361,661 | |
| Paulette Jordan (D) | 38.2 | 231,081 | ||
| Bev Boeck (L) | 1.1 | 6,551 | |
| Walter Bayes (Constitution Party) | 1.0 | 5,787 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.0 | 51 | ||
| Total votes: 605,131 | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Governor of Idaho
Paulette Jordan defeated A.J. Balukoff and Peter Dill in the Democratic primary for Governor of Idaho on May 15, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Paulette Jordan | 58.4 | 38,505 | |
| A.J. Balukoff | 40.1 | 26,423 | ||
| Peter Dill | 1.4 | 954 | ||
| Total votes: 65,882 | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Governor of Idaho
The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Governor of Idaho on May 15, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Brad Little | 37.3 | 72,548 | |
| Raúl Labrador | 32.6 | 63,478 | ||
| Tommy Ahlquist | 26.2 | 51,008 | |
| Lisa Marie | 1.7 | 3,397 | ||
| Steven Pankey | 1.4 | 2,704 | ||
| Harley Brown | 0.4 | 874 | ||
| Ben Cannady | 0.3 | 527 | |
| Total votes: 194,536 | ||||
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| Click [show] to view polling for this election. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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2014
- See also: Idaho gubernatorial election, 2014
Little ran for re-election in 2014.[6] He won the Republican nomination in the primary election on May 20, 2014. The general election took place on November 4, 2014.
Results
Primary election
| Lieutenant Governor of Idaho, Republican Primary, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
 Brad Little Incumbent |
66.8% | 96,780 | ||
| Jim Chmelik | 33.2% | 48,099 | ||
| Total Votes | 144,879 | |||
| Election results via Idaho Secretary of State. | ||||
General election
| Lieutenant Governor of Idaho, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Brad Little Incumbent |
62.8% | 271,268 | |
| Democratic | Bert Marley | 32.9% | 141,917 | |
| Constitution | David Hartigan | 4.3% | 18,705 | |
| Total Votes | 431,890 | |||
| Election results via Idaho Secretary of State | ||||
2010
Little ran for re-election in 2010. He defeated Eldon Wallace (D) and Paul Venable (C) in the general election on November 2, 2010.
| Idaho Lieutenant Governor, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Brad Little Incumbent |
67.8% | 299,979 | |
| Democratic | Eldon Wallace | 27.2% | 120,174 | |
| Constitution | Paul Venable | 5% | 22,007 | |
| Total Votes | 442,160 | |||
| Election results via Idaho Secretary of State | ||||
Endorsements
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Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
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2022
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Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Little lives in Emmett, Idaho, and is married to Teresa Soulen. They have two adult sons.[7]
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Phi Delta Theta Fraternity Museum, "Brad Little," accessed May 31, 2021
- ↑ Idaho State Journal, "Little defeats Jordan for governor after long, hard-fought campaign," November 6, 2018
- ↑ Idaho Statesman, "Gov. Little’s ‘priority No. 1’ comes to fruition: Idaho funding for school facilities," March 31, 2024
- ↑ Idaho GOP, "Brad Little," accessed July 25, 2024
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Idaho Office of the Governor, "About Governor Brad Little," accessed May 31, 2021
- ↑ Brad Little for Lieutenant Governor 2014 Official campaign website, "News: Announcement Speech," September 18, 2013
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Butch Otter (R) |
Governor of Idaho 2019-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Idaho State Senate 2001-2009 |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Lieutenant Governor of Idaho -2019 |
Succeeded by - |
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State of Idaho Boise (capital) |
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