Idaho Legislature Party Control: House and Senate Breakdown
Published July 15, 2026
Republicans hold a supermajority in both chambers of the Idaho Legislature and have controlled both chambers continuously since the 1990s. As of the 2026 session, Republicans hold 61 of 70 House seats and 29 of 35 Senate seats. Democrats hold 9 House seats and 6 Senate seats.
Current seat counts — 2026 session
House (70 seats)
87% Republican
Senate (35 seats)
83% Republican
What a supermajority means in practice
A simple majority (36 in the House, 18 in the Senate) is enough to pass most legislation. A two-thirds supermajority (47 in the House, 24 in the Senate) is required for specific actions:
- Overriding a Governor's veto
- Amending the Idaho Constitution (requires two-thirds of each chamber, then a statewide vote)
- Emergency clauses — making a law take effect immediately rather than on July 1
- Certain property tax levy overrides
Republicans held a two-thirds supermajority in both chambers during the 2026 session, meaning the caucus could pass emergency-clause legislation and override vetoes without any Democratic votes. In practice, most major 2026 bills passed with some bipartisan support — many unanimous or near-unanimous — but the supermajority removed any procedural dependency on minority-party cooperation.
Where Democrats hold seats
Democratic legislators in 2026 represent districts concentrated in Boise (Ada County), Moscow (Latah County), and Pocatello (Bannock County) — Idaho's three largest university cities. A small number of competitive or swing districts exist in the Treasure Valley (Meridian and Nampa suburbs) and parts of Twin Falls County.
In the 2026 session, Democratic members served on committees, introduced bills (some of which passed — see H0508 on bicycle and pedestrian projects and H0727 on AI-generated exploitation of minors), and occasionally provided the margin of passage on closely divided votes.
Idaho's 2026 Republican primary and intra-party divisions
With such a large supermajority, the more consequential political contest in Idaho is often the Republican primary rather than the general election. Five sitting Republican legislators lost their primary races in 2026, and seventeen races were decided by less than 10 percentage points — reflecting competition between establishment and more conservative wings of the party rather than between parties.
See the 2026 primary close races article for the full breakdown.
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