BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Two Idaho Supreme Court hopefuls are facing a runoff election with vote counting early Wednesday showing none of the top candidates having won more than 50 percent in Tuesday's primary.

Robyn Brody, an attorney from Rupert, and Curt McKenzie, a seven-term Republican state senator, were the top vote getters and are headed for a runoff in the November general election.

Unofficial results on the Idaho Secretary of State's website showed Carl Crabtree the upset winner over incumbent Republican Sen. Sherry Nuxoll in District 7. Crabtree won by 121 votes with nearly 5,000 votes cast.

 

In District 1, Republican Sen. Shawn Keough beat back a challenge

James Piotrowski has won the Democratic nomination for Idaho's first congressional district. Piotrowski, a 48-year-old attorney from Boise, will face Republican incumbent Rep. Raul Labrador in the general election this fall. He faced two challengers on the Democratic ballot: University of Idaho college student Staniela Nikolova and Glen Ellen, California resident Shizandra Fox. Out-of-state candidates can run for Congress in Idaho as long as they live in the state they hope to represent before the general election.

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Megan Blanksma, a Republican from Hammett, has defeated Rep. Pete Nielsen in Tuesday's GOP primary election. Blanksma was one of just three challengers Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter endorsed rather than supporting the incumbent. She has no opponent in the November general election. Nielsen faced backlash earlier this year after he said during a legislative hearing that women could not get pregnant in cases of rape or incest because the incident was too traumatic. Nielsen has since retracted his statements. Nielsen, 77, was also charged with poaching a spike elk earlier this year. Idaho Fish and Game officials cited the seven-term lawmaker in December for illegal possession of a spike elk.

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U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson has won the Idaho Republican primary in his bid for a 10th term representing one of the most conservative states in the nation. Simpson, who was first elected to Congress in 1998, easily defeated 52-year-old Boise resident Lisa Marie in the GOP primary. The 65-year-old Simpson will now face Democrat Jennifer Martinez and Constitution Party candidate Anthony Tomkins in the general election this fall. Both Martinez and Tomkins ran unopposed in the primary.

 

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U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo has won the GOP nomination in Idaho's primary. Crapo, 64, has already served three six-year terms representing Idaho in Congress and was running unopposed on the GOP ballot. He will face 63-year-old Democrat Jerry Sturgill, who also ran unopposed, in the general election this November. Crapo serves on the Senate banking and finance committees. If Republicans maintain control of the Senate, Crapo could become the senior Republican for banking. He's currently the third most-senior Republican on financing. Two other Idaho men are vying to be the third candidate in the general election for the Senate seat. Ray Writz of Coeur d'Alene and a man from Letha who legally changed his name from Marvin Richardson to Pro-Life are running against each other in the small Constitution Party primary.

 

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