Current legislative races tally: +2 for Dems

Here’s the caveat to tonight’s election results as they stand now: In Idaho’s three most-populous counties, Ada, Canyon, and Kootenai, results are coming out very slowly and the current numbers represent well under half the vote in each of those counties. Nevertheless, statewide, with 757 of 965 precincts reporting (that’s 78 percent of precincts), it appears that four legislative races in the state are headed toward upsets:

In District 5, Rep. Cindy Agidius, R-Moscow, is running behind Democratic challenger Paulette Jordan; while Republican Caroline Nilsson Troy is leading Democrat Gary Osborn for the seat formerly held by Rep. Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow. In District 6, Rep. Thyra Stevenson, R-Lewiston, is running narrowly behind Democratic challenger Dan Rudolph. And in Boise, Rep. Lynn Luker, R-Boise, is behind Democratic challenger Steve Berch in District 15.

If all those trends hold, the party split in the Legislature would change by two seats – Democrats would pick up two seats in the House. If Jordan and Nilsson Troy both win in District 5, that Democratic pickup and Republican loss would cancel each other out as far as the overall balance. In all other races in the state, at least as of now, new lawmakers who take office will be replacing outgoing lawmakers from the same party.