BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho Democrats will caucus across the state Thursday to select their nominee for the White House, giving President Joe Biden more delegates after he already clinched his party’s 2024 nomination.

Caucusgoers also will elect delegates pledged to the nominee for the state convention, which will be held on June 22.

The caucus will run from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. local time — the state is divided between the Pacific and Mountain time zones — and will be structured a bit differently than previous Democratic caucuses. Instead of listening to speeches and moving to various parts of the room to show their support for a candidate, voters will be given ballots to fill out their choices.

Only registered Democrats and unaffiliated voters can participate in the Democratic caucus. Unaffiliated voters must first sign a pledge saying that they are participating as Democrats and that they have not participated in any other presidential nomination contest this year. Voters who are 17 years old are allowed to caucus as long as they will turn 18 before the general election on Nov. 5.

That’s different from Idaho’s Republican caucus, held earlier this year: The Republican caucus allowed only registered Republicans to vote, and they had to be at least 18 at the time of the caucus. Former President Donald Trump won all of Idaho’s 32 GOP delegates at the March 2 event.

The presidential caucus winner will face a steep hill to climb for Idaho’s general election. The Republican presidential candidate has won the deep-red state in every election since 1968.

Democrats in Idaho utilized caucuses for years but switched the presidential contest to a primary for 2020. Biden won with about 49% of the vote, compared with roughly 42% that went to U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

Both the Republican and the Democratic parties had to caucus this year, however, after state lawmakers inadvertently scrapped the state’s primaries during the 2023 legislative session. The error happened when lawmakers were trying to change the date of the state’s primary from March to May — but the new date wasn’t included in the bill.

By next year, Idaho’s closed presidential contests could become a thing of the past. A voter initiative that would open the state primaries and switch the state to a ranked-choice voting system is expected to be on the general election ballot this fall.

Thirteen counties in Oregon have voted in favor of measures to begin negotiations on seceding from the state and joining neighboring Idaho.

The latest county to endorse the initiative was Crook County, where voters approved the “Greater Idaho Measure” on Tuesday. The proposal aims to move Oregon’s border approximately 200 miles to the west, which would place 14 counties and several partial counties under Idaho’s jurisdiction.

“The Oregon/Idaho line was established 163 years ago and is now outdated,” the movement’s website says. “It makes no sense in its current location because it doesn’t match the location of the cultural divide in Oregon.”

The organizers of the Greater Idaho movement argue that residents in eastern Oregon feel increasingly alienated by the state’s progressive policies, which they say contribute to high crime rates. Their website says becoming part of Idaho would offer lower taxes and improved representation and governance for the communities.

“We want an economy that is not held back by Oregon regulations and taxes, including environmental regulations,” Greater Idaho executive director Matt McCaw, said, according to the Daily Mail. “We’ll still have federal and Idaho regulations, and that’s plenty. Idaho knows how to respect rural counties and their livelihoods.”

In Crook County, Measure 7-86 passed with 53 percent of the vote, marking another victory for the Greater Idaho campaign. But the vote is not legally binding. Instead, it merely indicates that residents want their state and federal representatives to consider starting negotiations on the matter.

“We call on the governor, speaker of the House, and Senate president to sit down with us and discuss next steps towards changing governance for eastern Oregonians, as well as for the legislature to begin holding hearings on what a potential border change will look like,” Mr. McCaw said.

The Constitution Party had one candidate on the ballot for CD1 Representative, Brendan Gomez. He automatically advances to November. In the CD2 Representative race, two Constitution Party candidates ended the night with very close results. A candidate named Idaho Law – Carta Sierra received 51% of the ballots cast, while a candidate named Pro-Life garnered 49%. Idaho Law – Carta Sierra will advance to the general election.

The following is information on races across Idaho’s 35 Legislative Districts. The current Legislative District map can be seen here.

Idaho Legislative District 1:

In the state Senate race, former Senator Jim Woodward beat incumbent Senator Scott Herndon, 52% to 48%. There was no primary in any other party for the LD1 Senate seat.

In the House of Representative race Seat A, Republican Mark Sauter beat two challengers. Democrat Karen Matthee ran unopposed and will advance to November.

For House of Representatives Seat 1B Democrat Kathryn Larson beat Bob Vickaryous overwhelmingly, 92% to 8%. Republican Cornel Rasor beat Chuck Lowman 52% to 48%.

In Idaho Legislative Districts 2 and 3, all state Senate and House of Representatives candidates ran unopposed and will advance to the November general election.

Idaho Legislative District 4:

The only contested primary in LD4 was for State Representative Seat B. Republican incumbent Elaine Price beat Dave Raglin 60% to 40%. All other candidates ran unopposed.

Idaho Legislative District 5:

The only contested race in LD5 was for State Senate. Republican incumbent Carl Bjerke overwhelmingly defeated challenger Cheri Zao, 77.5% to 22.5%.

Idaho Legislative District 6: 

Two Republican challenges took place in LD6. Incumbent Senator Dan Foreman beat challenger Robert Blair, 53% to 47%. In the GOP battle for House of Representatives seat 6A, incumbent Lori McCann beat two challengers and will advance to November to face a Democratic challenger.

Idaho Legislative District 7: 

LD7 also saw two contested GOP races. Kyle Harris beat Jim Chmelik in the State Rep Seat A contest. For State Rep Seat B, Charlie Shepherd defeated challenger Larry Dunn to secure his November appearance.

Idaho Legislative District 8:

This area – which is comprised of Elmore, Boise, Custer, and Valley Counties – is the center of much discussion in this primary. For State Rep Seat 8A, GOP challenger Rob Beiswenger beat incumbent Matt Bundy, 54% to 46%. For State Rep Seat 8B, Republican challenger Faye Thompson beat longtime incumbent Megan Blanksma, 51% to 49%. The State Senate seat was also contested in the Republican party. Incumbent Geoff Schroeder was beat by former Representative/former Senator Christy Zito.

Idaho Legislative District 9:

In the GOP race for the nomination for State Senate, Brandon Shippy beat former Representative Scott Syme.  For State Rep seat 9A, GOP incumbent Jacyn Gallagher was defeated by challenger John Shirts, 38% to 62%.

Idaho Legislative District 10:

Incumbent GOP State Senator Tammy Nichols easily beat challenger Lori Bishop, 64% to 36%. Speaker of the House Mike Moyle was challenged by Rachel Hazelip for State Rep seat 10A. Moyle narrowly won the Republican nomination, beating Hazelip by 799 votes, and will face a Democrat in November.

Idaho Legislative District 11:

GOP challenger Camille Blaylock beat incumbent State Senator Chris Trakel, 52% to 48%. For State Rep seat 11A, Republican challenger Kent Marmon beat incumbent Julie Yamamoto, 57% to 43%. Lucas Cayler and Sarah Chaney faced off in the GOP primary for House Rep seat 11B. In a very close result, Cayler beat Chaney 1,695 votes to 1,656 votes and will now face Democrat Marisela Pesina in the November general election.

Idaho Legislative District 12:

In the State Senate GOP race, incumbent Ben Adams defeated challenger Victor Rodriguez, 58% to 42%. For State Rep seat 12A, Republican Jeff Cornilles beat Jarome Bell, 60% to 40%. State Rep seat 12B shows a big win by incumbent Republican Jaron Crane over challenger John (Jay) Noller, 78% to 22%. All other candidates ran unopposed in their respective parties.

Idaho Legislative District 13:

For State Senate in LD13, GOP incumbent Brian Lenney beat former Senator Jeff Agenbroad by 541 votes. There was a three-way race for State Rep seat 13B. Incumbent Kenny Wroten and challenger Amy Henry were both defeated by Steve Tanner.

Idaho Legislative District 14 had no contested primary races.

Idaho Legislative District 15:

In the Democratic primary for State Rep seat 15B, Shari Baber defeated Ivan Hurlburt, 67% to 33%. All other races were uncontested.

Idaho Legislative District 16:

Two seats in LD16 saw Democratic contests. For State Senate, incumbent Ali Rabe beat challenger Justin “Justice” Mitson by one of the largest margins – 89% to 11%. Four candidates were vying for the Democratic nomination for State Rep seat 16B. Todd Achilles won the race with 46.54% of the vote. The other three candidates split the remaining 53.46%.

Idaho Legislative Districts 17, 18, and 19 did not have any contested races in the primary.

Idaho Legislative District 20:

State Senate Pro Tempore Chuck Winder lost his seat to GOP challenger Josh Keyser, 2,926 votes to 3,207 votes. The House seats did not have any contested races.

Idaho Legislative District 21:

GOP incumbent Treg Bernt beat challenger Brenda Bourn to earn the Republican nomination for State Senate, 59% to 41%. In the race for State Rep seat 21A, there was a three-way race in the GOP. Incumbent James Petzke easily secured the win with just over 55% of the vote.

Idaho Legislative District 22:

State Rep seat 22B saw incumbent Jason Monks challenged by Marisa Stevens Keith. With a 67% to 33% margin, Monks won the race. The other two seats in LD22 did not have contested races in the primary.

Idaho Legislative District 23: 

In the GOP race for State Rep seat 23A, Chris Bruce beat Melissa Durrant in a close race with the totals being about 51% to 49%. Incumbent Tina Lambert was defeated by challenger Shawn R Dygert in the race for State Rep seat 23B. The vote count was 3,129 for Lambert and 3,324 for Dygert.

Idaho Legislative District 24:

State Senate GOP incumbent Glenneda Zuiderveld was challenged by Alex Caval but won the race with a 54.59% to 45.41% result. In the race for State Rep seat 24A, Chenele Dixon was defeated by Clint Hostetler who received 1,558 more votes. Republican Steve Miller beat Republican Jeff Faulkner for State Rep seat 24B by 11.5% of the votes cast.

Idaho Legislative District 25:

Linda Wright Hartgen, GOP incumbent in the State Senate, was defeated by Josh Kohl by a large margin, 63% to 37% to win the nomination. There is no nominee in any other party, so Kohl will win the seat in November. David Leavitt beat Greg Lanting for the GOP nomination for State Rep seat 25B. With no challenger from any other party for this seat, Leavitt will be the winner in November.

Idaho Legislative District 26:

Republican Mike Pohanka beat Kally Schiffler for the GOP nomination for State Rep seat 26A in a 60% to 40% result. In the race for State Rep seat 26B, Lyle Johnstone lost to Jack Nelsen by 169 votes.

Idaho Legislative District 27:

The only contested primary in LD27 was for State Rep seat 27B. Clay Handy beat Pat Field with a 59% to 41% result.

Idaho Legislative District 28:

In the GOP contest for the nomination for State Rep seat 28A, incumbent Rick Cheatum defeated two challengers. For State Rep seat 28B, Dan Garner beat Kirk Jackson with 55.53% of the vote.

Idaho Legislative District 29 had no primary contests.

Idaho Legislative District 30:

In the race for the State Senate Republican nomination, incumbent Julie VanOrden beat Jerry Truth Bingham 63% to 37%. In the House seat 30A GOP contest, David Cannon beat Josh Sorensen. For House seat 30B, Republican Ben G. Fuhriman beat incumbent Julianne Young by just 10 votes.

Idaho Legislative District 31:

LD31 had just one contested primary race. State Representative seat 31B GOP incumbent Rod Furniss beat former Representative Karey Hanks by 268 votes.

Idaho Legislative District 32: 

In the race for GOP nomination for State Seante in LD32, Kevin J Cook defeated Keith Newberry, 69% to 31%. There was a three-way race in the GOP for State Rep seat 32A. Incumbent Stephanie Mickelsen easily won the race with over 60% of the vote. There was also a three-way contest for State Rep seat 32B. Incumbent Wendy Horman with 45.5% of the overall vote.

Idaho Legislative District 33:

The GOP primary race result for State Senate in LD33 shows incumbent Dave Lent defeating challenger Bryan Scholz 60% to 40%. The Republican race for House seat 33B resulted in incumbent Marco Erickson beating challenger Jilene Burger 55% to 45%.

Idaho Legislative District 34:

LD34 had just one primary race. The House seat 34B GOP incumbent Britt Raybould beat challenger Larry E Golden with 65% of the vote.

Idaho Legislative District 35:

GOP incumbent Mark Harris beat challenger Doug Toomer for State Senate by about 2,000 votes. In the Republican primary contest for House seat 35B, incumbent Joshua Wheeler defeated challenger Brett C. Skidmore 62% to 38%.

All judges who were up for election were retained by the people, including Idaho Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Bevan. You can find statewide results for all the bonds and levies here.