Of Primary Concern: Idaho’s Struggle with Presidential Nomination
October 15, 2026
By Amelia Johnson
In 2023, Idaho lawmakers unintentionally eliminated the presidential primary. Three years later, the legislature is still fighting to revive it.
Title 34 of Idaho’s code, which governs elections, states that primary elections occur on the third Tuesday of May in even-numbered years. The law excludes presidential primaries, which instead occur on the second Tuesday in March. On March 30, 2023, Idaho Governor Brad Little signed into law House Bill 138, which removed the exception for presidential primaries. The legislature intended to consolidate all state primary elections in May, reportedly saving Idaho $2.7 million, which is the cost of holding a separate presidential primary.
However, due to a technical error, the bill effectively eliminated the presidential primary. Lawmakers struck language that set the presidential primary for March but did not include new language necessary to move the primary to May. The bill also deleted the statutory definition of “presidential primary.” As a result, Idaho had no legal way to hold a presidential primary election.
Lawmakers discovered this error after the bill passed the House, so the Senate passed a trailer bill, Senate Bill 1186, that incorporated the language necessary to reinstate the primary in May. However, the Senate’s solution was unsuccessful. Idaho Republican Party Chairwoman Dorothy Moon opposed the bill, preferring an early presidential primary to give Idaho more influence in the national GOP nomination process. The Idaho Republican Party wanted to move the primary to February instead to “draw more attention to Idaho.” The party worried that a May primary date could be too late in the cycle, so a leading candidate could secure the GOP nomination before Idaho voters weighed in.
With Moon’s opposition, Senate Bill 1186 died in committee, and the legislature instituted a presidential nominating caucus to facilitate the 2024 election cycle. Republicans held their caucus in March and Democrats in May. In a column in October 2023, Chairwoman Moon wrote, “Rather than waiting until May, when the nomination will be all but over, Idaho will be the fifth state in the nation to allocate its delegates. That means that whoever wins Idaho will have the early momentum that is so important for winning the nomination.”
This was not the first time Idaho voters caucused, as both parties held caucuses in 2012 and 2016. However, in recent elections, the parties opted for primary elections because caucuses drew low voter turnout due to their in-person requirement, featured long wait times, and created logistical issues. The 2024 caucuses were no different; both parties struggled to create voting mechanisms for absentee and overseas voters, and the GOP saw only 7% of registered Republicans vote, compared to almost 26% turnout in the 2020 primary.
Efforts to reinstate the presidential primary before 2028 continued this session. On March 9, 2026, the House passed House Bill 638, which would set the presidential primary to occur in March, returning to Idaho’s original election schedule. Later that month, the Senate passed Senate Bill 1398, which would reinstate the primary in May. The two bills also set different filing fees for presidential candidates. The House version required candidates to pay $50,000 to secure their place on the ballot, intending to offset the high cost of holding presidential primaries on a separate date from other primary elections. Meanwhile, the Senate instituted a $1,000 fee. Republican lawmakers introduced both bills, reflecting an intraparty split on the best resolution to this issue.
Idaho voters await further action on this legislation. Lawmakers have until 2028 to restore the presidential primary if they wish to avoid another low-turnout caucus, but passing a remedy bill will require careful coordination and party negotiations. The GOP currently holds a strong majority in the legislature, with 29 of the 35 seats, but will need to address divisions within the party to successfully update the law.