Phil Batt

Philip Eugene Batt (March 4, 1927 – March 4, 2023) was an American politician who served as the 29th Governor of Idaho from 1995 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, Batt had previously served as the 35th Lieutenant Governor of Idaho, Chair of the Idaho Republican Party, and as a member of the Idaho Legislature.

Early life and education

Born in Wilder, Idaho, Batt was the fifth and youngest child of John and Elizabeth Karn Batt.<ref name=marthak>Template:Cite web</ref> He graduated from Wilder High School.<ref name=ktvb/> Batt served sixteen months in the United States Army Air Forces during and after World War II at Lowry Field, Colorado, working as a clerk discharging veterans. He then returned to the University of Idaho and studied chemical engineering, lived in the dorms, and led a dance band, playing clarinet and tenor saxophone.<ref name="bjzupcmp">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> (Half a century later as governor, Batt played with Lionel Hampton in Moscow, Idaho at the jazz legend's UI festival.)<ref name="hnbgbbwg">Template:Cite news</ref>

Career

State offices

Before becoming governor, Batt had been a Republican politician in Idaho for thirty years, serving in the state legislature (house 1965–1967, state senate 1967–1979),<ref name=tbigchr>Template:Cite news</ref> and as the 35th lieutenant governor from 1979 to 1983.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He ran for governor in 1982 and was defeated in a close race by the Democratic incumbent, John Evans. The election was so close that at least one television network declared Batt the winner on election night.<ref name=erbtaqp>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=pbhscrb>Template:Cite news</ref>

Batt returned to the state senate with victories in 1984<ref name=elc84res>Template:Cite news</ref> and 1986, then resigned in the spring of 1988 to sit on the three-member state transportation board, appointed by Governor Cecil Andrus.<ref name=bmroff>Template:Cite news</ref>

Idaho Republican Party

Batt was elected chairman of the Idaho Republican Party in January 1991,<ref name="irepbc">Template:Cite news</ref> and after a successful two years, he stepped aside in April 1993 to re-enter electoral politics in 1994.<ref name="rsmietspb">Template:Cite news</ref> Batt had previously run for the post in 1968 and lost to Roland Wilber, 127 to 218.<ref>Idaho Statesman (Boise, Idaho), June 16, 1968:</ref>

Governor

Batt won the Republican gubernatorial primary in 1994 with 48% of the vote, and defeated state attorney general Larry Echo Hawk in the general election 52% to 44%,<ref name=elc94res>Template:Cite web</ref> for the first GOP victory for governor in 28 years.<ref name=brerep>Template:Cite news</ref> Despite high popularity, he chose to serve only one term, citing his age, and left office at age 71.<ref name=bsrslgd>Template:Cite news</ref> Among Batt's more notable accomplishments as governor was pushing through worker's compensation for agricultural workers and negotiating a pact limiting nuclear waste storage in Idaho.<ref name=bsrslgd/>

Later career

Batt was one of Idaho's presidential electors for George W. Bush during the 2000 United States presidential election.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Batt self-published two books after leaving office, a memoir titled The Compleat Phil Batt: A Kaleidoscope in 1999, and a compilation of humorous stories, Life as a Geezer, in 2003. Batt, who had a gay grandson, supported Add The Words.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Memorials

Boise has two memorials to Batt, with both acknowledging his work while in government: the Philip E. Batt Building of the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights,<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> which opened in October 2024,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> as well as the Philip E. Batt Building of the Idaho Transportation Department, dedicated as such in June 2013.<ref name=":0" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

On January 9, 1948, in Potlatch, Idaho, Batt eloped with Jacque Fallis of Spokane,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> a member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The newlyweds had to leave school a month later when Batt's 66-year-old father was involved in a serious automobile accident which left him with limited strength and speech. Though the young Batts initially hoped to return to college, economic circumstances changed their plans and they reluctantly did not.<ref>The Compleat Phil Batt: A Kaleidoscope (Template:ISBN), 1999, p. 3-16</ref>

Jacque Batt died on September 7, 2014, after 66 years of marriage.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2015, at age 88, Batt married Francee Riley of Boise.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Batt died on March 4, 2023, the morning of his 96th birthday.<ref name=ktvb>Template:Cite web</ref>

Election history

Idaho Gubernatorial Elections: Results 1982, 1994

Year		Democrat	Votes	Pct		Republican	Votes	Pct		3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct
1982		Template:Party shading/Democratic |John Evans (inc.)	Template:Party shading/Democratic align="right" |165,365	Template:Party shading/Democratic |50.6%		Template:Party shading/Republican |Phil Batt	Template:Party shading/Republican align="right" |161,157	Template:Party shading/Republican |49.4%						<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1994		Template:Party shading/Democratic |Larry Echo Hawk	Template:Party shading/Democratic align="right" |181,363	Template:Party shading/Democratic |43.9%		Template:Party shading/Republican |Phil Batt	Template:Party shading/Republican align="right" |216,123	Template:Party shading/Republican |52.3%		Template:Party shading/Independent |Ronald Rankin	Template:Party shading/Independent |Independent	Template:Party shading/Independent align="right" |15,793	Template:Party shading/Independent align="right" |3.8%	<ref name=elc94res/>

External links

• Idaho Public Television: Phil Batt
• The Almanac of American Politics: Phil Batt
• National Governors Association
• Template:C-SPAN

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