# 2020 United States Senate election in Idaho

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vte :
The 2020 United States Senate election in Idaho was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Idaho, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
Incumbent Republican senator Jim Risch won reelection to a third term in office, defeating Democratic nominee Paulette Jordan, who, percentage wise, had the worst performance of a Democratic senatorial candidate for this seat since 2002. However, Risch also performed nearly three points worse than he did when he was reelected in 2014, and he slightly underperformed incumbent president Donald Trump's performance in the concurrent presidential election.

## Republican primary
### Candidates
#### Nominee

* Jim Risch, incumbent U.S. senator

### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Jim Risch (incumbent) | 200,184 | 100.00% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 200,184 | 100.00% |

## Democratic primary
### Candidates
#### Nominee

* Paulette Jordan, former state representative and nominee for governor of Idaho in 2018

#### Eliminated in primary

* James Vandermaas, former law enforcement officer and candidate for Idaho's 1st congressional district in 2018

#### Withdrawn

* Nancy Harris, businesswoman (endorsed Jordan)
* Travis Oler, farmer and U.S. Army veteran (ran for state house) (endorsed Vandermaas)

#### Declined

* A.J. Balukoff, Boise School District board member, nominee for governor of Idaho in 2014, and candidate for governor of Idaho in 2018 (endorsed Vandermaas)
* Mark Nye, state senator
* Michelle Stennett, minority leader of the Idaho Senate

### Endorsements

Individuals
* Nancy Harris, businesswoman and withdrawn candidate
* Aaron Paul, actor known for Breaking Bad
Publications
* Idaho Statesman
Individuals
* A.J. Balukoff, Boise School District board member and nominee for governor of Idaho in 2014
* Travis Oler, farmer and withdrawn candidate

### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Paulette Jordan | 72,778 | 85.70% |
| | Democratic | James Vandermaas | 12,145 | 14.30% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 84,923 | 100.00% |

## Other candidates
### Constitution Party
#### Nominee

* Ray Writz

### Independents
#### Declared

* Natalie Fleming, software developer

## General election
### Predictions

| Source | Ranking | As of |
| The Cook Political Report | Solid R | October 29, 2020 |
| Inside Elections | Safe R | October 28, 2020 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball | Safe R | November 2, 2020 |
| Daily Kos | Safe R | October 30, 2020 |
| Politico | Safe R | November 2, 2020 |
| RCP | Safe R | October 23, 2020 |
| DDHQ | Safe R | November 3, 2020 |
| 538 | Safe R | November 2, 2020 |
| Economist | Safe R | November 2, 2020 |

### Endorsements

U.S vice presidents
* Joe Biden, 47th vice president of the United States and 2020 Democratic nominee for President
Individuals
* Nancy Harris, businesswoman and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2020
* Aaron Paul, actor known for Breaking Bad
Organizations
* Center for Biological Diversity
* DSCC
* Emily’s List
* National Education Association
* National Women's Political Caucus
Publications
* Idaho Statesman

### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Jim Risch (R) | Paulette Jordan (D) | Other | Undecided |
| | August 29 – September 1, 2020 | 600 (LV) | ± 4.0% | 53% | 28% | 8% | 11% |

### Results

United States Senate election in Idaho, 2020 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Jim Risch (incumbent) | 538,446 | 62.62% | −2.71% |
| | Democratic | Paulette Jordan | 285,864 | 33.25% | −1.42% |
| | Independent | Natalie Fleming | 25,329 | 2.95% | N/A |
| | Constitution | Ray Writz | 10,188 | 1.18% | N/A |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 859,827 | 100.0% | |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

#### By county

By county :
| County | Jim Risch Republican | Jim Risch Republican | Paulette Jordan Democratic | Paulette Jordan Democratic | Natalie Fleming Independent | Natalie Fleming Independent | Ray Writz Constitution | Ray Writz Constitution | Margin | Margin | Total votes |
| County | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | Total votes |
| Ada | 130,446 | 50.56 | 118,718 | 46.01 | 6,940 | 2.69 | 1,910 | 0.74 | 11,728 | 4.55 | 258,014 |
| Adams | 1,828 | 71.38 | 625 | 24.40 | 62 | 2.42 | 46 | 1.80 | 1,203 | 46.97 | 2,561 |
| Bannock | 22,048 | 55.94 | 15,472 | 39.26 | 1,433 | 3.64 | 460 | 1.17 | 6,576 | 16.68 | 39,413 |
| Bear Lake | 2,791 | 84.55 | 355 | 10.75 | 91 | 2.76 | 64 | 1.94 | 2,436 | 73.80 | 3,301 |
| Benewah | 3,584 | 73.55 | 1,081 | 22.18 | 103 | 2.11 | 105 | 2.15 | 2,503 | 51.36 | 4,873 |
| Bingham | 14,644 | 73.83 | 4,313 | 21.74 | 625 | 3.15 | 253 | 1.27 | 10,331 | 52.08 | 19,835 |
| Blaine | 4,226 | 31.76 | 8,739 | 65.67 | 288 | 2.16 | 54 | 0.41 | -4,513 | -33.91 | 13,307 |
| Boise | 3,323 | 69.36 | 1,247 | 26.03 | 128 | 2.67 | 93 | 1.94 | 2,076 | 43.33 | 4,791 |
| Bonner | 17,964 | 66.48 | 8,079 | 29.90 | 601 | 2.22 | 377 | 1.39 | 9,885 | 36.58 | 27,021 |
| Bonneville | 36,490 | 68.81 | 13,913 | 26.24 | 1,972 | 3.72 | 653 | 1.23 | 22,577 | 42.58 | 53,028 |
| Boundary | 4,800 | 76.70 | 1,212 | 19.37 | 131 | 2.09 | 115 | 1.84 | 3,588 | 57.33 | 6,258 |
| Butte | 1,120 | 79.43 | 222 | 15.74 | 39 | 2.77 | 29 | 2.06 | 898 | 63.69 | 1,410 |
| Camas | 488 | 72.30 | 156 | 23.11 | 17 | 2.52 | 14 | 2.07 | 332 | 49.19 | 675 |
| Canyon | 59,060 | 65.92 | 26,603 | 26.69 | 2,550 | 2.85 | 1,384 | 1.54 | 32,457 | 36.23 | 89,597 |
| Caribou | 2,603 | 81.45 | 442 | 13.83 | 97 | 3.03 | 54 | 1.69 | 2,161 | 67.62 | 3,196 |
| Cassia | 7,564 | 78.91 | 1,508 | 15.73 | 322 | 3.36 | 192 | 2.00 | 6,056 | 63.18 | 9,586 |
| Clark | 254 | 81.67 | 42 | 13.50 | 12 | 3.86 | 3 | 0.96 | 212 | 68.17 | 311 |
| Clearwater | 3,357 | 76.66 | 883 | 20.16 | 104 | 2.38 | 35 | 0.80 | 2,474 | 56.50 | 4,379 |
| Custer | 1,978 | 73.04 | 603 | 22.27 | 74 | 2.73 | 53 | 1.96 | 1,375 | 50.77 | 2,708 |
| Elmore | 6,797 | 67.17 | 2,814 | 27.81 | 317 | 3.13 | 191 | 1.89 | 3,983 | 39.36 | 10,119 |
| Franklin | 5,678 | 85.85 | 585 | 8.84 | 217 | 3.28 | 134 | 2.03 | 5,093 | 77.00 | 6,614 |
| Fremont | 5,391 | 80.39 | 1,001 | 14.93 | 205 | 3.06 | 109 | 1.62 | 4,390 | 65.46 | 6,706 |
| Gem | 7,546 | 76.13 | 1,957 | 19.74 | 268 | 2.70 | 141 | 1.42 | 5,589 | 56.39 | 9,912 |
| Gooding | 4,442 | 73.56 | 1,335 | 22.11 | 186 | 3.08 | 76 | 1.26 | 3,107 | 51.45 | 6,039 |
| Idaho | 7,629 | 80.47 | 1,532 | 16.16 | 214 | 2.26 | 106 | 1.12 | 6,097 | 64.31 | 9,481 |
| Jefferson | 11,702 | 83.19 | 1,647 | 11.71 | 481 | 3.42 | 236 | 1.68 | 10,055 | 71.48 | 14,066 |
| Jerome | 5,450 | 69.98 | 1,978 | 25.40 | 249 | 3.20 | 111 | 1.42 | 3,472 | 44.58 | 7,788 |
| Kootenai | 61,289 | 69.68 | 22,945 | 26.09 | 2,538 | 2.89 | 1,183 | 1.34 | 38,344 | 43.59 | 87,955 |
| Latah | 9,501 | 46.14 | 10,373 | 50.37 | 532 | 2.58 | 187 | 0.91 | -872 | -4.23 | 20,593 |
| Lemhi | 3,497 | 74.37 | 1,020 | 21.69 | 141 | 3.00 | 44 | 0.94 | 2,477 | 52.68 | 4,702 |
| Lewis | 1,420 | 76.84 | 357 | 19.32 | 38 | 2.06 | 33 | 1.79 | 1,063 | 57.52 | 1,848 |
| Lincoln | 1,371 | 71.00 | 470 | 24.34 | 71 | 3.68 | 19 | 0.98 | 901 | 46.66 | 1,931 |
| Madison | 13,517 | 79.79 | 2,288 | 13.51 | 783 | 4.62 | 353 | 2.08 | 11,229 | 66.28 | 16,941 |
| Minidoka | 5,930 | 74.84 | 1,587 | 20.03 | 307 | 3.88 | 99 | 1.25 | 4,343 | 54.81 | 7,923 |
| Nez Perce | 13,487 | 64.73 | 6,510 | 31.24 | 684 | 3.28 | 155 | 0.74 | 6,977 | 33.49 | 20,836 |
| Oneida | 2,039 | 84.47 | 253 | 10.48 | 68 | 2.82 | 54 | 2.24 | 1,786 | 73.99 | 2,414 |
| Owyhee | 3,643 | 76.84 | 910 | 19.19 | 106 | 2.24 | 82 | 1.73 | 2,733 | 57.65 | 4,741 |
| Payette | 8,488 | 75.56 | 2,308 | 20.55 | 306 | 2.72 | 131 | 1.17 | 6,180 | 55.02 | 11,233 |
| Power | 2,053 | 67.20 | 876 | 28.67 | 91 | 2.98 | 35 | 1.15 | 1,177 | 38.53 | 3,055 |
| Shoshone | 3,904 | 65.85 | 1,747 | 29.46 | 181 | 3.05 | 97 | 1.64 | 2,157 | 36.38 | 5,929 |
| Teton | 2,837 | 44.96 | 3,251 | 51.52 | 180 | 2.85 | 42 | 0.67 | -414 | -6.56 | 6,310 |
| Twin Falls | 24,355 | 67.58 | 9,776 | 27.12 | 1,318 | 3.66 | 591 | 1.64 | 14,579 | 40.45 | 36,040 |
| Valley | 3,862 | 54.89 | 2,984 | 42.41 | 155 | 2.20 | 35 | 0.50 | 878 | 12.48 | 7,036 |
| Washington | 4,050 | 75.69 | 1,147 | 21.43 | 104 | 1.94 | 50 | 0.93 | 2,903 | 54.25 | 5,351 |
| Totals | 538,446 | 62.62 | 285,864 | 33.25 | 25,329 | 2.95 | 10,188 | 1.18 | 252,582 | 29.38 | 859,827 |

#### By congressional district

Risch won both congressional districts.
| District | Risch | Jordan | Representative |
| 1st | 66% | 30% | Russ Fulcher |
| 2nd | 59% | 37% | Mike Simpson |