Idaho governor’s race: Pickens, Stegner say they are in it to win it

Democrat Terri Pickens and independent John Stegner said they each will run active, statewide campaigns in their efforts to unseat incumbent Republican Gov. Brad Little, who is seeking a third term. 

Little, Pickens, Stegner, a Constitution Party candidate who legally changed his name from Marvin Richardson to Pro-Life and Libertarian Paul Sand are all running for governor in Idaho’s Nov. 3 general election. 

“I got into this race because I think Idaho is worth fighting for, and I didn’t see anybody else willing to take up the mantle in the way that I thought it needed to be taken up,” Stegner said in a July 10 interview. 

Pickens, an attorney who owns her own business, is also optimistic about winning. Pickens described Little as an unpopular incumbent governor who has tied himself fully to President Donald Trump just as what Pickens described as a “Trump slump” is playing out across the country.

“We have built momentum, both face-to-face and also with our social media,” Pickens said July 15. “I can’t go anywhere in the state of Idaho without people recognizing me, and that is really huge for a candidate going in. We also have a wildly unpopular governor (in Little).”

Efforts to reach Little and Sand were unsuccessful. 

“It’s a hard job. It’s a thankless job in many respects,” Stegner said, of running for governor. “But I’ve also had any number of people come up to me and tell me that I’ve given them hope. And if that’s all I get to do, I would consider this candidacy a success. But I aspire to more. I aspire to be governor, and I think there’s a path to victory in the way that the team that we’ve built and the campaign that we’ve constructed is working.”

While Stegner served as a judge for 25 years in Idaho, including as a member of the Idaho Supreme Court, this would be the first statewide elected political office. 

“Running for governor as the first political office out of the blocks is a little aspirational,” Stegener said. “I shouldn’t say a little; it’s quite aspirational to start at the top. But I think having been on the Supreme Court and having seen how government works, I have a solid understanding of how things work. And I think being governor at this juncture is an important office and an important place for somebody with my background because I sincerely believe that neither the Democrats nor the Republicans have a lock on good ideas. And as a governor, I would aspire to implement good ideas irrespective of their source.”

To do that, Stegner said he will launch a series of campaign events this summer and fall. 

“Our goal is to reach every one of the 44 counties,” Stegner said.

Pickens says contested primary election and her unsuccessful 2022 campaign made her a stronger candidate

Pickens knows that any Democrat running for statewide office faces an uphill challenge. No Democrat has been elected governor in Idaho since 1990, when the late former Gov. Cecil Andrus won his fourth and final term. 

In 2022, Pickens ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor – losing to incumbent Republican Lt. Gov. Scott Bedke. 

Pickens said her experience as a candidate has helped her grow. She said her unsuccessful 2022 campaign for lieutenant governor helped her gain name recognition. And she said this spring’s contested Democratic primary for governor, which Pickens won, helped her improve as a candidate. 

Pickens said she has already campaigned across Idaho three times, held events in 30 counties and has plans to have visited all 44 counties before Election Day. 

“I will tell you that having to have an active, healthy primary was not just good for the party, but it was good for me,” Pickens said in a July 15 interview. “It taught me to be a better candidate. I got the opportunity to have three forum town hall debates with the candidates, and it allowed me to kind of fine-tune my message and get ready for what I perceive is going to be an uphill battle in the general election.”

Pickens said she doesn’t think Stegner’s independent campaign hurts her chances as the Democrat.

“I’m actually looking at this as a good thing for my campaign,” Pickens said in a July 15 interview.

Pickens said she thinks Stegner will pull Republican voters away from Little, drawing down Little’s support and making it easier for Pickens to win as a Democrat in the minority party. 

“We are jumping after different demographics,” Pickens said. “I’m going for the 18- to 30-year olds. I’m going for all of the women who are going to show up to vote for their bodily autonomy, and I’m going for every Democrat in the room.”

“I think (Stegner) is really going to pull those Republicans who would never vote for a Democrat anyway,” Pickens said. “But they’re so disappointed in Brad Little that they want 2018 Brad Little, and I think that’s what John Stegner offers them.”

At least one Idaho candidate for governor does not plan an active political campaign

In contrast to Stegner and Pickens, the Constitution Party candidate who changed his name to Pro-Life does not plan to run an active campaign and does not think anyone will beat Little. 

“We already know who’s going to win,” Pro-Life said July 16. “We know that Brad Little’s going to be our governor and everybody else is maybe dreaming or faking that they might be able to somehow pull off a win, but it’s not going to happen.”

Pro-Life said he would agree to a debate or a town hall event with gubernatorial candidates, but he does not anticipate mounting an active campaign of his own. 

“Probably not,” said Pro-Life, who has not reported raising any campaign money this year. “I’m old and I have to work on my farm and I can’t hire labor, so I don’t think I am going to do anything.”

Instead Pro-Life said he is running to bring public accountability to political candidates and to encourage Christian morality.