Engage · State

Running for office

Idaho has thousands of elected seats, most of them local and many uncontested. Here is which offices are up when, how filing works and what the money rules are.

Which offices are up when

Even years, partisan: all 105 seats in the Legislature, county commissioners and other county officers, and Idaho's two seats in the U.S. House. Party primaries are on the third Tuesday in May and the general election is in November.
Every four years (2026, 2030): Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Controller, Treasurer, Attorney General and Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Odd years, nonpartisan: mayors, city councils and school board trustees, in November.
Judges run without party labels. Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and district judges are on the May ballot.
Special districts, such as highway, fire, library and cemetery districts, elect their boards on set election dates in May or November. Your county clerk knows which.
Precinct committeemen, the entry-level party office, are elected in the May primary of even years. There is no fee to file.

Who can run

For most offices you must be a registered voter living in the district you want to represent. Some offices add requirements: legislators must have lived in their district for a year, the Governor must be at least 30, and prosecutors and judges must be lawyers. The Secretary of State's candidate pages list the rules for each office.

Filing

Where: federal, statewide, legislative and judicial candidates file with the Secretary of State. County candidates file with the county clerk, city candidates with the city clerk, and district candidates with the district or the county clerk.
When: for the May primary, filing runs for about two weeks in late February and early March. City and school board candidates file in late summer of odd years. The exact dates are set each cycle, and the deadline is firm.
Fee or signatures: most partisan offices let you pay a filing fee or turn in petition signatures instead. In 2026 the fee was $30 for the Legislature and $40 for county commissioner, against 50 and 5 signatures. Independent candidates must file by petition.
Write-ins must file a declaration of intent or their votes aren't counted.

Party primaries

Each party decides who can vote in its primary. The Republican primary is open only to voters registered as Republicans, and in most of Idaho the Republican primary decides the race. If you want a say in it, check your registration well ahead. The deadline to switch from one party to another comes months before the May primary, when candidate filing closes.

Money

Track everything from day one, including your own money.
Name a political treasurer. The Secretary of State requires one, and requires reporting, once you raise or spend $500. You can be your own treasurer.
Report online through the Secretary of State's Sunshine Portal, at every level of office.
Know the limits. The Secretary of State's guides list $1,000 per donor per election for legislative races and $5,000 for statewide ones. Confirm the current figures before you raise money.

See following the money in Idaho politics.

Where to start

Call your county clerk's elections office. They'll tell you which seats are up, when filing opens and what forms you need.
Go to the meetings of the board you'd join. The calendar lists many of them.
Consider an appointed seat first. See serve on a board or commission.

Sources

Last reviewed November 2026. This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules change, so check the linked sources before you rely on a deadline.