C.L. "Butch" Otter
A candidate for Governor, State of Idaho in the 2010 Idaho General Election
Party: Republican
City: Star, Idaho
Occupation: Idaho governor
Incumbent governor, multimillionaire rancher, retired from J.R. Simplot Corp. Otter was first elected to the Idaho Legislature in 1972. He served 14 years as the state’s lieutenant governor, and three terms in Congress before being elected governor in 2006. He won his second term in 2010 with 59 percent of the vote. A rodeo enthusiast, Otter this year was named to the Idaho Rodeo Hall of Fame.
Contact information
- Web: otter4idaho.com
Race Results
| Candidate | Votes | Pct |
|---|---|---|
| C.L. “Butch” Otter (R) | 266,992 | 59.18% |
| Keith Allred (D) | 147,863 | 32.77% |
| Jana M. Kemp (I) | 26,601 | 5.90% |
| Ted Dunlap (L) | 5,864 | 1.30% |
| Pro-Life (I) | 3,841 | 0.85% |
Related Coverage
Ad criticizes Otter’s school budget cuts
BOISE – With state education cuts high on Idahoans’ minds with the new school year under way, Gov. Butch Otter’s Democratic challenger, Keith Allred, has launched a new TV ad criticizing Otter for the cuts. The ad, which began running Tuesday night across Southern Idaho but hasn’t yet launched in the Panhandle, includes an image of a troubled Otter looking down at a tall stack of papers; that’s a composite image in which the papers and other elements were added.
Many Idaho voters undecided about sales tax breaks
Idahoans favor reform of the state’s tax structure, but the path to change is full of obstructions. In a Spokesman-Review poll done in collaboration with six other daily newspapers in Idaho, 54 percent of respondents said they want tax reform, with 33 percent saying the system is fair and adequate.
Democratic lawmaker: ‘Professionalize’ Idaho’s tax panel
BOISE - Idaho Rep. Wendy Jaquet plans to introduce sweeping legislation to reform Idaho’s state Tax Commission, shifting it from an agency run by four full-time political appointees to one run by a professional director with a part-time commission. “It is high time to professionalize the commission,” said Jaquet, D-Ketchum, noting that it’s been plagued by whistleblower allegations of sweetheart deals for influential taxpayers, plus an ongoing dispute with elected county assessors over property tax rules.
Expert cites tea party in Idaho poll’s divide
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter’s 16-point lead over Democrat Keith Allred masks weaknesses that show the race is far from over. Otter leads Allred 45 percent to 29 percent in a statewide poll commissioned by The Spokesman-Review and six other Idaho newspapers. But only 44 percent of those polled said they had a favorable opinion of Otter, and 20 percent remain undecided.
Eye on Boise: Big debates coming in top political races
BOISE – It’s debate season, with major debates set in the coming weeks in Idaho’s top political races, giving voters who tune in a chance to see and compare the candidates. The two major-party candidates for governor, incumbent Gov. Butch Otter and Democrat Keith Allred, have faced off twice in recent weeks at City Club events in Idaho Falls and Boise; the two also are scheduled for two televised debates in late October, though Otter canceled on a planned Oct. 7 debate in Lewiston.
Idaho governor now opposes repeal of 17th Amendment
BOISE – Idaho Gov. Butch Otter appears to be abandoning an issue important to many tea party activists. The Republican seeking a second term in the governor’s office declared during a political debate Monday that he now opposes repeal of the 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which would return the selection of U.S. senators to state legislatures. But just five months ago, while in Spokane as a keynote speaker for a tea party rally in Riverfront Park, Otter was sharply critical of the 17th Amendment, which some conservative groups consider an intrusion on state’s rights and its repeal is part of the Idaho Republican Party’s state platform.