Ada County district judge race headed to a runoff in Idaho’s November general election

An Idaho race for a district judgeship in Ada County is headed to a runoff election in November, after no candidate received a majority of votes in Tuesday’s primary election. 

District courts are state-level courts, split up by region, that hold trials for felony cases and high-value civil cases, such as lawsuits.

The top two performing candidates in the race for an Idaho 4th District seat — Jeffrey Street Jr. and Greg Woodard — are advancing to the November election. Street received 40.65% of the vote, or 29,120 votes, and Woodard received 30.56% of the vote, or 21,896 votes, according to unofficial results reported by the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office. 

Under Idaho law, the candidate who had the fewest votes, David J. Morse, will not advance to the runoff election. Morse received 28.79% of the vote, or 20,624 votes, the unofficial election results show. It was unclear whether Morse met the legal requirements to be an Idaho judge, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported.

In East Idaho, District Judge Steven Boyce kept his seat in District 7, winning widely over Bonneville County Prosecutor Randy Neal, East Idaho News reported. Boyce won 70.36% of the vote, or 27,397 votes, over Neal’s 29.64% of the vote, or 11,543 votes. 

Judicial elections are nonpartisan. District judges are elected in May primary elections. But many other candidates only receive their political party’s nomination in May primary elections — before they advance to the November general election, when winners are officially declared. 

The Idaho Statesman first reported on the runoff election. 

Want to know more about the judges on your ballot? The Idaho State Bar last month released ratings on district judge candidates from hundreds of attorneys.