United States congressional delegations from Idaho
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Since Idaho became a U.S. state in 1890,<ref name="census-ID-statehood">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> it has sent congressional delegations to the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives, beginning with the 51st United States Congress. Prior to 1890, Idaho sent non-voting delegates to the House of Representatives from 1864 to 1889.<ref name="congress-delegations">Template:Cite book</ref> Each state elects two senators to serve for six years in general elections, with their re-election staggered. Prior to the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, senators were elected by the Idaho Legislature.<ref name="nara-17th-amendment">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Each state elects a varying number of, but at least one,<ref name="const-12" /> member of the House, depending on population, to two-year terms.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Idaho has sent two members to the House in each congressional delegation since the 1910 United States census.<ref name="census-seat-history">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
A total of 63 unique individuals have represented Idaho in Congress; Idaho has had 26 senators and 44 representatives, and 7 have served in both the House and the Senate. Two women from Idaho, Gracie Pfost and Helen Chenoweth, have served in the House, while none have served in the Senate.<ref name="CAWP-Idaho" />
Mike Crapo is currently the dean, or longest-serving member of Congress, of the Idaho delegation, having served in Congress since his election to the House of Representatives in 1992. Since 1998, he has been serving in the Senate.<ref name="Deseret-Crapo">Template:Cite news</ref> Crapo is the second-longest serving senator in Idaho history,<ref name="Statesman-incumbent-sweep">Template:Cite news</ref> after William Borah.<ref name="EIN-Borah">Template:Cite news</ref>
Current delegation
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Class II senator | Class III senator | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) Jim Risch Template:Small Template:Small |
 Mike Crapo Template:Small Template:Small | |||
| Party | Template:Party shading/Text/Republican | Template:Party shading/Text/Republican | ||
| Incumbent since<ref name="ID-senators" /> | January 3, 2009 | January 3, 1999 |
Idaho's current congressional delegation in the Template:USCongressOrdinalCongress consists of its two senators and two representatives, all of whom are Republicans.<ref name="ID-current-delegation">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Idaho has not elected a Democratic member of Congress since Walt Minnick was elected in 2008;<ref name="CPR-ID-house">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> he was defeated by Republican Raúl Labrador two years later in 2010.<ref name="KBOI-Labrador-victory">Template:Cite news</ref>
As of April 2025, the Cook Partisan Voting Index, a measure of how strongly partisan congressional districts and states are,<ref name="cpvi">Template:Cite journal</ref> ranked both Idaho congressional districts<ref name="CPR-d">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and the state as a whole<ref name="CPR-s">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> as solidly Republican.
The dean, or longest-serving member of Congress, of the Idaho delegation is currently Mike Crapo, who has been serving in Congress since his election to the House of Representatives in 1992. After serving in the House for three terms, he was elected to the Senate in 1998.<ref name="Deseret-Crapo" /> Crapo is the second-longest serving senator in Idaho history,<ref name="Statesman-incumbent-sweep" /> after William Borah,<ref name="EIN-Borah"/> and is the first member of the Church of Latter-Day Saints to represent Idaho in the Senate.<ref name="Deseret-Crapo" /> Mike Simpson, who represents Idaho's 2nd congressional district, is tied with Burton L. French as the longest-serving representative from Idaho,<ref name="Statesman-incumbent-sweep" /> both having been elected for thirteen terms.<ref name="bluebook-Idaho">Template:Cite book</ref> {{#section:Idaho's congressional districts|Current representatives}}
United States Senate
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Template:Stack 26 people have served as a U.S. senator from Idaho,<ref name="ID-senators" /> all of them men.<ref name="CAWP-Idaho">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The longest-serving senator from Idaho, William Borah, was an influential Republican legislator who eventually became the dean of the Senate during his 33 years of service. He was known for his political views independent of the Republican Party and influence on the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, eventually becoming its chairman.<ref name="Borah-death" /><ref name="politico-Borah-memorial">Template:Cite news</ref> He was instrumental in the passage of the Sixteenth and the Seventeenth Amendments, establishing the graduated income tax and popular election of Senators, respectively, but opposed the Nineteenth Amendment, which prohibited disenfranchisement the right to vote on account of sex.<ref name="Borah-bio">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The last Democratic senator from Idaho was Frank Church, who similarly served for 24 years on the Foreign Relations Committee, including two years as chairman. He also served as chairman of the Church Committee, whose reports helped pass the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978.<ref name="Senate-Church-bio">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="NCC-Churchcommittee">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Senator Jim McClure also rose to leadership positions, including as the chairman of the Senate Republican Conference from 1981 to 1985, and as the chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.<ref name="McClure-obit">Template:Cite news</ref>
Senators are elected every six years depending on their class, with each senator serving a six-year term, and elections for senators occurring every two years, rotating through each class such that in each election, around one-third of the seats in the Senate are up for election.<ref name="senate-about">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Idaho's senators are elected in classes II and III.<ref name="ID-senators" />
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| Class II senator | Congress | Class III senator | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Party cell rowspan=6 | George L. Shoup (R) | 51st (1889–1891) | Template:Party cell | William McConnell (R) | ||
| 52nd (1891–1893) | Template:Party cell rowspan=3 | Fred Dubois (R) | |||
| 53rd (1893–1895) | ||||
| 54th (1895–1897) | ||||
| 55th (1897–1899) | Template:Party cell rowspan=3 | Henry Heitfeld (Pop) | |||
| 56th (1899–1901) | ||||
| Template:Party cell rowspan=3 | Fred Dubois (D) | 57th (1901–1903) | |||
| 58th (1903–1905) | Template:Party cell rowspan=5 | Weldon B. Heyburn (R)Template:Efn | |||
| 59th (1905–1907) | ||||
| Template:Party cell rowspan=22 | William Borah (R)Template:Efn | 60th (1907–1909) | |||
| 61st (1909–1911) | ||||
| 62nd (1911–1913) | ||||
| Template:Party cell | Kirtland I. Perky (D)Template:Efn | ||||
| Template:Party cell rowspan=4 | James H. Brady (R)Template:Efn | ||||
| 63rd (1913–1915) | ||||
| 64th (1915–1917) | ||||
| 65th (1917–1919) | ||||
| Template:Party cell rowspan=2 | John F. Nugent (D)Template:Efn | ||||
| 66th (1919–1921) | ||||
| Template:Party cell rowspan=5 | Frank R. Gooding (R)Template:Efn | ||||
| 67th (1921–1923) | ||||
| 68th (1923–1925) | ||||
| 69th (1925–1927) | ||||
| 70th (1927–1929) | ||||
| Template:Party cell rowspan=3 | John Thomas (R) | ||||
| 71st (1929–1931) | ||||
| 72nd (1931–1933) | ||||
| 73rd (1933–1935) | Template:Party cell rowspan=3 | James P. Pope (D) | |||
| 74th (1935–1937) | ||||
| 75th (1937–1939) | ||||
| 76th (1939–1941) | Template:Party cell rowspan=4 | D. Worth Clark (D) | |||
| Template:Party cell rowspan=4 | John Thomas (R)Template:Efn | ||||
| 77th (1941–1943) | ||||
| 78th (1943–1945) | ||||
| 79th (1945–1947) | Template:Party cell rowspan=6 | Glen H. Taylor (D) | |||
| Template:Party cell | Charles C. Gossett (D)Template:Efn | ||||
| Template:Party cell rowspan=2 | Henry Dworshak (R) | ||||
| 80th (1947–1949) | ||||
| Template:Party cell | Bert H. Miller (D)Template:Efn | 81st (1949–1951) | |||
| Template:Party cell rowspan=7 | Henry Dworshak (R)Template:Efn | ||||
| 82nd (1951–1953) | Template:Party cell rowspan=3 | Herman Welker (R) | |||
| 83rd (1953–1955) | ||||
| 84th (1955–1957) | ||||
| 85th (1957–1959) | Template:Party cell rowspan=13 | Frank Church (D) | |||
| 86th (1959–1961) | ||||
| 87th (1961–1963) | ||||
| Template:Party cell rowspan=6 | Leonard B. Jordan (R) | ||||
| 88th (1963–1965) | ||||
| 89th (1965–1967) | ||||
| 90th (1967–1969) | ||||
| 91st (1969–1971) | ||||
| 92nd (1971–1973) | ||||
| Template:Party cell rowspan=9 | Jim McClure (R) | 93rd (1973–1975) | |||
| 94th (1975–1977) | ||||
| 95th (1977–1979) | ||||
| 96th (1979–1981) | ||||
| 97th (1981–1983) | Template:Party cell rowspan=6 | Steve Symms (R) | |||
| 98th (1983–1985) | ||||
| 99th (1985–1987) | ||||
| 100th (1987–1989) | ||||
| 101st (1989–1991) | ||||
| Template:Party cell rowspan=9 | Larry Craig (R) | 102nd (1991–1993) | |||
| 103rd (1993–1995) | Template:Party cell rowspan=3 | Dirk Kempthorne (R) | |||
| 104th (1995–1997) | ||||
| 105th (1997–1999) | ||||
| 106th (1999–2001) | Template:Party cell rowspan=14 | Mike Crapo (R) | |||
| 107th (2001–2003) | ||||
| 108th (2003–2005) | ||||
| 109th (2005–2007) | ||||
| 110th (2007–2009) | ||||
| Template:Party cell rowspan=9 | Jim Risch (R) | 111th (2009–2011) | |||
| 112th (2011–2013) | ||||
| 113th (2013–2015) | ||||
| 114th (2015–2017) | ||||
| 115th (2017–2019) | ||||
| 116th (2019–2021) | ||||
| 117th (2021–2023) | ||||
| 118th (2023–2025) | ||||
| 119th (2025–2027) | ||||
United States House of Representatives
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Since the establishment of Idaho Territory, 44 people have served Idaho in the House of Representatives. Of those, only two have been women: Gracie Pfost, who served in the House from 1953 to 1962, and Helen Chenoweth, who served in the House from 1995 to 2000.<ref name="CAWP-Idaho" /> No African-Americans have ever served Idaho in the House.<ref name="aa-rep">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
From 1864 to 1890, Idaho elected a non-voting delegate to the House. After statehood in 1890, the state sent one member to the House until 1913, when Idaho gained a seat in the House after the 1910 census. The representatives were elected at-large until Idaho's congressional districts were drawn in 1919.<ref name="bluebook-Idaho" /> Idaho has sent two members to the House in each congressional delegation since then.<ref name="bluebook-Idaho" /> One member of the House of Representatives is sent from each district via a popular vote.<ref name="const-12">Template:Cite constitution</ref> Districts are redrawn every ten years, after data from the US Census is collected.<ref name="nyt-districts">Template:Cite news</ref>
1864–1890: 1 non-voting delegate
Starting on February 1, 1864, Idaho Territory sent a non-voting delegate to the House.
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| Congress | Delegate from Template:Ushr |
|---|---|
| 38th (1863–1865) | Template:Party cell | William H. Wallace (R) |
| 39th (1865–1867) | Template:Party cell rowspan=2 | Edward D. Holbrook (D) |
| 40th (1867–1869) | |
| 41st (1869–1871) | Template:Party cell | Jacob K. Shafer (D) |
| 42nd (1871–1873) | Template:Party cell | Samuel A. Merritt (D) |
| 43rd (1873–1875) | Template:Party cell | John Hailey (D) |
| 44th (1875–1877) | Template:Party cell | Thomas W. Bennett (I)Template:Efn |
| Template:Party cell rowspan=2 | Stephen S. Fenn (D) | |
| 45th (1877–1879) | |
| 46th (1879–1881) | Template:Party cell rowspan=2 | George Ainslie (D) |
| 47th (1881–1883) | |
| 48th (1883–1885) | Template:Party cell | Theodore Frelinghuysen Singiser (R) |
| 49th (1885–1887) | Template:Party cell | John Hailey (D) |
| 50th (1887–1889) | Template:Party cell rowspan=2 | Fred Dubois (R) |
| 51st (1889–1891) |
1890–1913: 1 seat
Following statehood on July 3, 1890, Idaho had one seat in the House.
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| Congress | Template:Ushr |
|---|---|
| 51st (1889–1891) | rowspan=3 Template:Party cell | Willis Sweet (R) |
| 52nd (1891–1893) | |
| 53rd (1893–1895) | |
| 54th (1895–1897) | Template:Party cell | Edgar Wilson (R) |
| 55th (1897–1899) | Template:Party cell | James Gunn (Pop) |
| 56th (1899–1901) | Template:Party cell | Edgar Wilson (SvR) |
| 57th (1901–1903) | Template:Party cell | Thomas L. Glenn (Pop) |
| 58th (1903–1905) | rowspan=3 Template:Party cell | Burton L. French (R) |
| 59th (1905–1907) | |
| 60th (1907–1909) | |
| 61st (1909–1911) | Template:Party cell | Thomas Ray Hamer (R) |
| 62nd (1911–1913) | Template:Party cell| Burton L. French (R) |
1913–present: 2 seats
Following the 1910 census, Idaho was apportioned a second seat. It elected both seats statewide at-large on a general ticket, until 1919, when it redistricted into two districts.
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| Congress | Elected on a general ticket from Template:Ushr | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st seat | 2nd seat | |
| 63rd (1913–1915) | Template:Party cell | Burton L. French (R) | rowspan=3 Template:Party cell | Addison T. Smith (R) |
| 64th (1915–1917) | Template:Party cell | Robert M. McCracken (R) | |
| 65th (1917–1919) | Template:Party cell | Burton L. French (R) | |
See also
- List of United States congressional districts
- Idaho's congressional districts
- Political party strength in Idaho
Notes
References
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