1974 United States Senate election in Idaho
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1974 United States Senate election in Idaho took place on Tuesday, November 5. Democratic incumbent Frank Church was re-elected to a fourth term in office, defeating Republican Bob Smith.[1]
.png)
 | |||||||||||||||||
November 5, 1974
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
 County results Church: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Smith: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
Church announced his presidential campaign in March 1976,[2][3] off the strength of his victory as well as his high-profile chairmanship of the select Church Commission investigating American intelligence activity.
As of 2026[update], this was the last time the Democrats won a U.S. Senate election in Idaho.[4]
Primary elections
The primary was held on Tuesday, August 6.[5]
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Frank Church, Boise, incumbent since 1957
- Leon Olson, Boise
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Frank Church (incumbent) | 53,659 | 85.77% | |
| Democratic | Leon Olson | 8,904 | 14.23% | |
| Total votes | 62,563 | 100.00% | ||
Republican primary
Candidates
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bob Smith | 45,553 | 71.98% | |
| Republican | Donald L. Winder | 13,406 | 21.18% | |
| Republican | Charles Bolstridge | 4,331 | 6.84% | |
| Total votes | 63,290 | 100.00% | ||
General election
Democratic candidates did extraordinarily well in 1974, in response to the Watergate scandal. This was true even in Republican leaning states and districts, leading commentators to call Church and other Democratic candidates elected that year, "Watergate babies."[10][11]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Frank Church (incumbent) | 145,140 | 56.07% |  4.19 | |
| Republican | Bob Smith | 109,072 | 42.14% |  2.40 | |
| American Independent | Jean L. Stoddard | 4,635 | 1.79% | N/A | |
| Majority | 36,068 | 13.93% | −6.59% | ||
| Total votes | 258,847 | 100.00% | +10.09% | ||
| Democratic hold | |||||