Boise attorney Terri Pickens won the Idaho Democratic gubernatorial primary election Tuesday.

The AP called the Idaho Democratic primary election for Pickens at 9:32 p.m. Mountain time Tuesday, while election results were still being counted.

Pickens, who grew up in Pocatello and lives in Boise, has campaigned on a platform of supporting public schools and ending what she called an “endless culture war” pushed by Republicans in the Idaho Legislature and incumbent GOP Gov. Brad Little.

At 1:30 a.m. Mountain time Wednesday, incomplete election returns showed Pickens held an insurmountable lead in the field of four Democratic candidates. Those results showed Pickens had won about 61 percent of the votes counted, or 30,022 total votes. Jill C. Kirkham of Pocatello finished in second place with about 17 percent of the votes counted, or 8,257 votes. Maxine Durand of Twin Falls finished in third place and Channel Torrez of Nampa finished fourth.

Who is Terri Pickens?

Pickens is the founding partner of the Boise firm Pickens Law, where she represents construction clients and others. She is a graduate of the University of Southern California and the University of Idaho College of Law.

Previously, Pickens ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in 2022, losing to Republican Lt. Gov. Scott Bedke. She has essentially been running for governor since 2023.

Pickens had raised the most campaign money of the Democrats running for governor. Sunshine, the online campaign finance database run by the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office, showed that Pickens has raised $112,759 so far in 2026. Durand raised the second-most campaign money among Democratic gubernatorial candidates, reporting $14,626 in campaign contributions so far this year.

The winner of the Democratic primary election advances to the Nov. 3 general election to square off against incumbent Republican Gov. Brad Little, independent gubernatorial candidate and retired Idaho Supreme Court Justice John Stegner, Libertarian Party primary winner Paul Sand, independent Jacob Burnett and a Constitution Party candidate who legally changed his name to Pro Life.

Election results are unofficial until they are certified by the Idaho State Board of Canvassers, which meets June 9 to certify the state’s primary election results.