The cost of running in the Idaho primary race

SPOKANE, Wash. — The countdown for the Idaho primary race is on — there are just five days until the votes are counted. A total of eight candidates are running for the state’s governor seat, which has been claimed by Republican Butch Otter for the past twelve years.

Five Republicans and three Democrats make up the field of candidates. Tommy Ahlquist, Dalton Cannady, Raul Labrador, Brad Little and Steve Pankey make up the Republican ballot, while AJ Balukoff, Peter Dill and Paulette Jordan represent the Democrats running for governor.

The field of candidates spent a total of nearly $9 million on their primary campaigns, according to data from the Office of the Idaho Secretary of State. Of that $8.7 million, nearly $5.8 million was spent on broadcast advertising, including radio, television, internet and phone ads.

Republicans Ahlquist and Little put the most money into their party’s primary campaigns. The Ahlquist campaign spent a total of $3.69 million dollars overall, with $2.99 million going towards broadcast advertising. The Little campaign spent a total of $1.81 million overall, with a little over $1 million spent on broadcast ads.

As for the Democrats, Balukoff and Jordan spent more than $2 million combined. Balukoff’s campaign made up the majority of that number, spending a total of $1.91 million, with $1.38 million going to broadcast advertisements. Jordan put nearly $300,000 towards her campaign and spent about $6,000 on ads.

Early voting for the primary closes Friday. The Idaho primary election will be held Tuesday, May 15.

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