Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo; David Roth’s campaign; Insider
Sen. Mike Crapo is running against Democrat David Roth to represent Idaho in the US Senate.
If elected, Roth would become the first openly gay man to serve in the US Senate.
Crapo has far outraised and outspent Roth and is expected to serve another term.
Republican incumbent Sen. Mike Crapo faces off against Democrat David Roth in Idaho to represent the state in the US Senate.
Idaho’s Senate race candidates
First elected in 1998, Crapo has served in Congress for nearly a quarter of a century. He serves as a ranking member on the Senate Committee on Finance and as the chief deputy whip among Senate Republicans.
Crapo’s priorities include addressing the challenges that face Idaho’s multi-billion dollar agriculture industry, reforming and modernizing the financial sector, and pursuing alternative energy sources.
Prior to entering Congress, the native Idahoan served for nearly a decade in the Idaho State Senate and for three terms in the US House. A graduate of Harvard Law School, Crapo also worked as a partner in the law firm of Holden, Kidwell, Hahn & Crapo, and is a member of the Idaho and California Bar Associations and the Bar of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Roth, Crapo’s challenger, serves as the executive director of the Bonneville Youth Development Council in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Prior to that, he served as a precinct captain, legislative district vice chair, and most recently as the chair of the Bonneville County Democrats. Roth unsuccessfully ran for the Idaho State Legislature in 2020.
He is also an openly gay man, as noted in his Twitter bio. Roth says he is “running in ‘red’ Idaho because NO state is a lost cause.” If elected, Roth would become the first openly gay man to serve in the US Senate.
Roth defeated Ben Pursley in the Democratic primary, receiving nearly 60% of the vote.
Idaho’s voting history
The state voted for then-President Donald Trump over Joe Biden by a margin of about 30 percentage points in the 2020 election. Idaho, a longtime Republican stronghold, has voted for the Republican candidate in every presidential election cycle since 1952, having voted Democratic just once — Lyndon B. Johnson over Barry Goldwater — in 1964.
The money race
According to OpenSecrets, Crapo has raised $7.1 million, spent $6.7 million, and has $3.3 million cash on hand, as of October 19.
As Insider reported in 2021, Crapo is a highly successful fundraiser who once provided prospective donors with a detailed list of pay-to-play deliverables at three price points.
His challenger, Roth, has raised $88,533, spent $70,660, and has $17,872 cash on hand, as of October 19.
What experts say
The race between Crapo and Roth is rated as “solid Republican” by Inside Elections, “solid Republican” by The Cook Political Report, and “safe Republican” by Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.