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Our verdict

LiberalMind endorses Scott Bedke

Election Day is November 3. Idaho elects its lieutenant governor separately from its governor — not as a ticket — to a four-year term. Incumbent Scott Bedke, a Republican in office since January 2, 2023, seeks a second term against Democrat Eric Myricks. Both primaries on May 19, 2026 were uncontested. There is no public competitiveness evidence located for this race, and no campaign-finance figures were located for either candidate. What is sourced is a proven incumbent and a challenger with no prior elected-office record located. LiberalMind endorses Scott Bedke. Read what the record actually contains, and see why.

How Idaho got here

Idaho elects its seven constitutional officers separately, on a partisan ballot, to four-year terms in midterm years, with no term limits. The primaries were held May 19, 2026, and Ballotpedia's results for this race are marked certified, sourced to results.voteidaho.gov, the Idaho Secretary of State results site.

The confirmed general-election roster, verified against Ballotpedia's general-election listing and the Idaho GOP voter guide: Scott Bedke (Republican, incumbent) — certified Republican primary, 184,849 votes, 100%, uncontested; Eric Myricks (Democratic) — certified Democratic primary, 43,568 votes, 100%, uncontested. The Newstalk 107.9 election toolkit, checked against Idaho's official candidate list on October 6, 2026, counts 2 candidates in this race. 270toWin's primary page confirms: "Both Bedke and Democrat Eric Myricks have uncontested primaries."

On competitiveness: no public competitiveness evidence located — no rating, poll, or state reporting treating this race as competitive was found in this research. Context only, printed as context: Idaho has had 32 consecutive years of Republican trifectas, and Idaho has not elected a Democrat to statewide office since 2002 — the second fact sourced in the Secretary of State research to American Star News, October 19, 2026.

On money: no campaign-finance figures were located for either candidate in this research. That is a gap, named as a gap. Idaho filings run through the Secretary of State's Sunshine system, and those reports were not pulled for this race in this pass.

Scott Bedke (Republican) — proven in this office

Background and service: Lieutenant governor since January 2, 2023, seeking a second term. Before this office he was Speaker of the Idaho House — described in the research as the longest-serving Speaker, 2013–2022, before winning this office in 2022. That speakership tenure is printed here as the research file's standard biography; the file flags that a primary biography citation is still owed before that line would normally print as settled fact, and we flag it the same way here rather than upgrade it.

Record in this cycle: In October 2026 he joined the state's Republican officials publicly opposing Proposition 1, the ballot initiative to rescind Idaho's abortion ban (Idaho GOP release via Gem State Chronicle, October 9, 2026). No other 2026-cycle record item for Bedke was located in this research. No scandal or verification failure was located for him in this pass.

Pros: Proven in the office he seeks again — a full term served, after a long House speakership as described above. In-tent on the values this publication prices: his documented October 2026 position was with the Republican officials opposing the initiative to rescind the abortion ban. No proven flaw in service was located.

Cons: The sourced record in this research is thin — one documented cycle position beyond the incumbency itself. No money figures were located, so no financial comparison can be made or claimed.

The flaw, plainly: No proven flaw was located in this research. Thin sourcing is a limit of this file, not a flaw priced against him.

Eric Myricks (Democratic) — unproven for statewide office

Background and service: Democratic nominee, uncontested in his primary as above. No prior elected-office record was located for him in this research. He did not respond to the Fair Care Idaho 2026 candidate questionnaire — the questionnaire records "No response received" for him. No scandal or verification failure was located for him in this pass.

There is, on this record, no in-service record to inspect for the test our doctrine applies to a Democratic candidate: proven breaks with his party, in service, on Constitution, capitalism, Christianity and freedom values — not rhetoric. Unproven is not a demerit, and we do not price it as one. It is simply the absence of the proven record the exception requires.

Pros: He is on the ballot as the certified Democratic nominee after an uncontested primary. No adverse finding was located against him.

Cons: No prior elected-office record located; no questionnaire response on the one questionnaire in this file; no money figures located. There is no sourced basis on which a voter — or this publication — could verify a program or a record from this research.

The flaw, plainly: Insufficient record to evaluate — stated plainly, as our standard requires for thin-record races. That is the finding, not a padded substitute for one.

The minor candidates, briefly

There are none on the confirmed roster. This is a two-candidate race on the sources above. A standing check found no pedophile-association material meeting the proven standard for any candidate on this ballot — absence noted, nothing implied.

OUR CALL

LiberalMind endorses Scott Bedke.

The doctrine is straightforward on a thin file, and we do not make it more complicated than the record allows. Bedke is a proven Republican incumbent, in-tent on our values, with no proven flaw located in this research. Myricks is unproven for statewide office, with no prior elected-office record located and no in-service breaks with his party on our values to inspect — the Manchin test looks in service, and there is no service record in his file. Unproven is never a reason, by itself, to withhold an endorsement from a candidate who otherwise earns one; here it is the challenger who is unproven, and the incumbent who is proven. Endorse the proven incumbent, with the file's limits printed in full above.

For the complete Election 2026 breakdown — every race, claim by claim — see the full coverage on our website.

Vote early. Research your candidates. Choose the best moderates, whatever their party — no extremism from either side. And encourage your friends and family to do the same.

Sources

Election result — November 4, 2026

Result pending. No verified call (Associated Press or official) as of November 4, 2026. This page will be updated when the race is called or certified. The original article above is unchanged.

AI-assisted article — but the sources are human, and the facts are very real.

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