1966 Idaho gubernatorial election

The 1966 Idaho gubernatorial election was held on November 8. Republican nominee Don Samuelson defeated Democratic nominee Cecil Andrus with 41.4% of the vote in a four-way race (two independents).^[1]

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1966 Idaho gubernatorial election

← 1962 November 8, 1966 1970 →

Nominee Don Samuelson Cecil Andrus Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 104,586 93,744 Percentage 41.41% 37.11%   Nominee Perry Swisher Philip Jungert Party Independent Independent Popular vote 30,913 23,139 Percentage 12.24% 9.16%

County results Samuelson:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70% Andrus:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

Governor before election Robert E. Smylie Republican Elected Governor Don Samuelson Republican

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In early August, three-term incumbent Robert E. Smylie, the dean of American governors, was soundly defeated in the Republican primary by Samuelson.^[2] Andrus was a close runner-up in the Democratic primary to Charles Herndon,^[2] who was killed in a plane crash six weeks later in September.^[3][4]

This was the sixth consecutive Republican victory for governor, but Democrats won the next six, with four by Andrus. The next gubernatorial election in 1970 was a rematch, with different results.