Idaho Gov. candidate Harley Brown poses for a photo while awaiting vote counts during the IdahoGOP Primary election night event at the Riverside Hotel in Boise on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Otto Kitsinger)

With more than half of Idaho voters telling pollsters that the Gem State is on the "right track," chances were Tuesday would be a good night for incumbents. That conventional wisdom held, as GOP Gov. Butch Otter won his party's nomination to become the first governor to win three consecutive terms since 1962. "The Idaho GOP establishment seems to be the big winner," said Steve Shaw, a political scientist at Northwest Nazarene University, noting that strong wins by Otter allies U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, Lt. Gov. Brad Little and Attorney General Lawrence Wasden showed that most voters were satisfied with the status quo. Though Otter will be a favorite over Democrat A.J. Balukoff in November, Shaw said, his loyalists "should be concerned at the relative weakness" of the governor's victory/Dan Popkey, Idaho Statesman. More here.

Question: Any surprises in the statewide elections?

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