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 County results Andrus: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Leroy: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Idaho | ||
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The1986 Idaho gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1986 to elect thegovernor of the state ofIdaho.Cecil Andrus, a formerDemocratic governor, was elected defeating theRepublicanLieutenant GovernorDavid Leroy.
This was an open seat election; longtime incumbentJohn V. Evans ran for theU.S. Senate, but lost. This was the first open-seat gubernatorial election in Idaho or the first open-seat Idaho gubernatorial election since1954.
Republican Lieutenant Governor David Leroy announced his candidacy for governor fourteen months before the election in the autumn of 1985.[1] Raised inLewiston, Leroy was a formercounty prosecutor inBoise and stateattorney general.[1]
Democrat former governor Cecil Andrus declared his bid for governor six months later in March 1986.[2] He held the office for six years (1971–1977), until his appointment asU.S. Secretary of the Interior (1977–1981) in theCarter Administration.[2][3] Incumbent Evans, successor to Andrus in 1977, chose to run for theU.S. Senate, but lost to incumbentSteve Symms.
Both Andrus and Leroy were unopposed for their respective nominations in the statewide primary on May 27.[4]
As election day neared, polls showed Democrat Andrus ahead of Leroy.[1]
It was the third of four wins for Andrus, and the fifth of six consecutive for the Democrats. Similar to the previous election in1982 (with different candidates), the winning margin was narrow.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Cecil Andrus | 193,429 | 49.9 | −3.0 | |
| Republican | David Leroy | 189,794 | 49.0 | +1.9 | |
| Independent | James Miller | 4,203 | 1.1 | +1.1 | |
| Majority | 3,635 | 0.9 | −4.9 | ||
| Turnout | 387,426 | ||||
| Democratichold | Swing | ||||
| Preceded by 1982 | Idaho gubernatorial elections | Succeeded by 1990 |
