U.S. Senate
Election Results
| Candidate | Votes | Pct |
|---|---|---|
| Jim Risch (R) | 538,446 | 62.62% |
| Paulette E. Jordan (D) | 285,864 | 33.25% |
| Natalie Fleming (I) | 25,329 | 2.95% |
| Ray J. Writz (C) | 10,188 | 1.18% |
* Race percentages are calculated with data from the Secretary of State's Office, which omits write-in votes from its calculations when there are too few to affect the outcome. The Spokane County Auditor's Office may have slightly different percentages than are reflected here because its figures include any write-in votes.
The Candidates
Jim Risch
- Party:
- Republican
- Age:
- 82
- City:
- Boise, Idaho
Education: After high school in his hometown of Milwaukee, attended the University of Wisconsin for two years before transferring to the University of Idaho. Received a bachelor's degree in forestry in 1965 and a law degree in 1968 from the University of Idaho.
Political Experience: Elected Ada County prosecuting attorney in 1970. Elected to the Idaho state Senate in 1974, serving until 1988 and again from 1995 to 2002. Served as lieutenant governor of Idaho from 2003 to 2006, then for seven months as governor when Gov. Dirk Kempthorne became Secretary of the Interior. Risch opted not to run for governor after serving out the term, running again for lieutenant governor and serving until 2008, when he was first elected to the U.S. Senate.
Work Experience: While serving as Ada County prosecuting attorney, he taught criminal law at Boise State University. He later worked as an attorney in private practice from 1975 to 2008.
Family: Married with three adult sons and nine grandchildren.
Campaign Fundraising: Raised $2.4 million, as of Oct. 1, 2020. Top contributors include Delta Airlines, Koch Industries and General Atomics.
Paulette E. Jordan
- Party:
- Democratic
- Age:
- 46
- City:
- Plummer, Idaho
Education: Graduated from Gonzaga Preparatory School in Spokane in 1998. Earned bachelor's degrees in communications, comparative literature and American Indian studies from the University of Washington in 2003.
Political Experience: Elected to serve on the Coeur d'Alene Tribal Council from 2009 to 2012. Won two close elections to represent the 5th Legislative District in the Idaho House of Representatives from 2014 to 2018, when she stepped down for an unsuccessful run for governor.
Work Experience: Board member of the National Indian Gaming Association from 2010 to present and founded the nonprofit Save the American Salmon in 2018.
Family: Has two boys, ages 11 and 16.
Campaign Fundraising: Raised nearly $250,000 as of Oct. 1. Top contributors include the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, Lummi Indian Business Council, and individual donors through the Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue.
Natalie Fleming
- Party:
- Independent
- Age:
- 54
Education: Graduated from Moscow High School in Moscow, Idaho, in 1989. Studied civil engineering at Boise State University before leaving to care for children.
Political Experience: Ran to represent Idaho's 1st Congressional District in 2018, coming in third behind Repulican Russ Fulcher and Democrat Cristina McNeil.
Work Experience: Has worked for 30 years as a software developer and designer of data management systems.
Family: Has four adult children.
Campaign Fundraising: Has not reported fundraising numbers to the Federal Election Commission. The FEC only requires reporting once a campaign raises at least $5,000.
Ray J. Writz
- Party:
- Constitution
- Age:
- 74
- City:
- Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
- Occupation:
- Janitorial business owner
Education: Graduated from Grant High School in Fox Lake, Illinois, in 1969. Studied accounting at the now-defunct Kinman Business University in Spokane in 1982-83.
Political Experience: Ran unsuccessfully for Idaho state Senate in 2010, state House of Representatives in 2012, again for state Senate in 2014 and for U.S. Senate in 2016.
Work Experience: Partially retired after a career as a carpenter, laborer and sanitation engineer. Most recently, ran a janitorial business in Coeur d'Alene.
Family: Married. Has two adult children and five grandchildren.
Campaign Fundraising: $7,410 as of Oct. 1. Writz contributed nearly all of those funds himself, with one donation from independent political activist Darcy Richardson.
Complete Coverage
‘This can’t go on’: Idaho Sen. Jim Risch poised to be top GOP voice on foreign policy, calls for cooperation to counter China
WASHINGTON – The past four years have seen American foreign policy take a narrower view of national interests, with President Donald Trump often preferring to act alone. But a new report from Sen. Jim Risch makes the case for the U.S. to work more closely with its European allies to counter growing Chinese influence on the world stage.
U.S. Sen. Jim Risch faces three challengers in November election
Though Jim Risch has only been in the Senate for 10 years, he’s spent several decades in public office. His opponent, Democrat Paulette Jordan, said the wealthy rancher has lost touch with his constituents and should be open to more public debates prior to the election.
Washington, Idaho lawmakers from both sides of the aisle challenge Trump suggestion of election delay
Washington lawmakers and elections officials from both sides of the aisle challenged President Donald Trump’s Thursday morning tweet suggesting the United States should delay the November election, saying the president does not have the power to push back an election and that the vote-by-mail system is secure.
‘We’re getting farther apart’: Murray, Risch weigh in on COVID-19 relief negotiations as deadlines loom
WASHINGTON – With key pieces of the federal government’s COVID-19 response set to expire at the end of July, time is running out for Congress to negotiate another round of pandemic relief spending, and lawmakers remain far apart on what a compromise bill should look like.
Northwest lawmakers pursue different priorities in new COVID relief package
WASHINGTON – Lawmakers are set to return to the Capitol on Monday after a two-week break, facing a de facto deadline at the end of the month to pass another round of coronavirus relief, but Republicans and Democrats will first need to reconcile dramatically different visions for what the legislation should include.
Idaho lawmakers’ bill would let tribes, counties collect revenue from timber sales in Forest Service partnerships
New legislation introduced by two Idaho Republicans would expand a controversial federal program that lets states partner with the U.S. Forest Service for forest management projects, allowing tribes and counties to collect revenue from timber sales from public lands.
Bob Norris wins Kootenai County sheriff’s primary; Fulcher to face Soto in race for Congress
All-mail balloting led to a boost in turnout and late returns in Kootenai County, where several Republican primaries were up for grabs. But favorites in the federal races emerged from early returns Tuesday night.
Jordan to challenge Risch for Idaho’s U.S. Senate seat
Former Idaho Democratic gubernatorial candidate and state lawmaker Paulette Jordan announced Friday that she’s challenging two-term Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Risch.