District Judge Steven Boyce won re-election to the Idaho 7th Judicial District bench Tuesday, defeating Bonneville County Prosecutor Randy Neal in a contested judicial election that covered all ten counties of eastern Idaho.

Boyce took 27,397 votes, or 70.36 percent, against Neal’s 11,543 votes, or 29.64 percent. The result keeps Boyce on a bench he has held since Gov. Brad Little appointed him in 2019. He ran unopposed in 2022 and faced his first contested election Tuesday.

A rare contested judicial race

Most Idaho district judges run unopposed or are unchallenged after appointment. Contested judicial elections, particularly against a sitting county prosecutor, are unusual. Boyce said in a statement that he learned of Neal’s challenge in February and ran what he described as a grassroots campaign across the district’s counties.

Neal congratulated Boyce in a statement to the press and said both men would return to work on Wednesday. “Congratulations to Judge Boyce on his re-election,” Neal said. He continues as Bonneville County’s elected prosecutor.

What the seat covers

The 7th Judicial District covers Bingham, Bonneville, Butte, Clark, Custer, Fremont, Jefferson, Lemhi, Madison, and Teton counties. District judges in Idaho handle felony criminal cases, civil cases above the magistrate threshold, and appeals from magistrate court. Boyce’s re-election keeps the eastern Idaho bench unchanged through the next four-year term.