Pickens wins Democratic gubernatorial primary, will face Little in November
Boise attorney Terri Pickens won the Democratic gubernatorial primary Tuesday with roughly 61 percent of the vote, setting up a general election challenge to incumbent Republican Gov. Brad Little and a crowded field of third-party candidates.
Boise attorney Terri Pickens won the Idaho Democratic Party gubernatorial primary Tuesday, advancing to a November general election challenge against incumbent Republican Gov. Brad Little.
The Associated Press called the race for Pickens at 9:32 p.m. Mountain time. Incomplete returns early Wednesday morning showed Pickens with about 61 percent of votes cast, or roughly 30,022 ballots, in a four-way primary. Jill C. Kirkham of Pocatello finished second at about 17 percent with 8,257 votes. Maxine Durand of Twin Falls placed third and Channel Torrez of Nampa placed fourth.
A second statewide bid
Pickens, founding partner of the Boise firm Pickens Law, is making her second statewide run. She lost the 2022 lieutenant governor race to Republican Scott Bedke and announced her gubernatorial campaign in 2023. She grew up in Pocatello and now lives in Boise, holding degrees from the University of Southern California and the University of Idaho College of Law.
Her campaign has focused on public school funding and on what she describes as a Republican-driven culture war in the Legislature and the governor’s office. Pickens led the Democratic field in fundraising, reporting $112,759 raised in 2026 through the Idaho Secretary of State’s Sunshine campaign finance database. Durand was the next closest at $14,626.
A crowded November field
The general election ballot will be unusually long. Pickens will face Little, retired Idaho Supreme Court Justice John Stegner running as an independent, Libertarian Party winner Paul Sand, independent Jacob Burnett, and a Constitution Party candidate who legally changed his name to Pro Life. The cross-party slate sets up a contest in which the Democratic nominee is unlikely to be the only credible alternative to the incumbent.
Results remain unofficial until certification by the Idaho State Board of Canvassers, which meets June 9. Pickens now has roughly five months to build out a general-election operation against a sitting governor who finished the GOP primary night with his own renomination secured.