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BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter barely cinched the GOP gubernatorial nomination, winning about 52 percent of the vote in Tuesday's primary.
Otter will face Democrat A.J. Balukoff in November as he bids for a third term in office.
The GOP gubernatorial race was tight, with tea party favorite Sen. Russ Fulcher lagging by only about 13,000 votes with 92 percent of precincts reporting early Wednesday morning. But the governor left the GOP celebration in Boise early, without making a statement and before the race had been called.
The race between the two highlighted the deep divide in the Idaho Republican Party.
Challengers supported by tea party factions made runs at several statewide seats, but most of the incumbents in the statewide races managed to hold the lead.
Lt. Gov. Brad Little handily defeated his tea party challenger Jim Chmelik, winning about 70 percent of the vote in early returns.
Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden also defeated his challenger, Boise attorney Chris Troupis, but by a narrower margin — about 60 percent of the votes.
State Controller Brandon Woolf's race against challenger Todd Hatfield was too close to call, with Woolf leading with about 52 percent of the roughly 124,000 votes counted by early Wednesday morning.
Idaho's Republican Party has grown increasingly fractured in recent years. Far-right ideologists successfully sued to close the Republican primary so that only registered party members could participate two years ago, and Tuesday's election was the first gubernatorial race under the new system.
The GOP primary is often considered the most competitive leg of the election because Republican candidates rarely face a strong Democratic challenger in November.
Deborah Silver won the Democratic nomination for state treasurer. She will face incumbent Republican Ron Crane in the general election.
Justice Joel Horton defeated Boise attorney William "Breck" Seiniger to retain his seat on the high court bench.
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