Brad Little (Idaho politician)

Brad Little is a third-generation Idahoan who grew up in Emmett, working and hunting on his family’s ranch. His grandfather, Andy Little, emigrated from Scotland in 1894, and his father, David Little, was a Republican state legislator and a member of the Republican National Committee. On Halloween in 1964 he campaigned alongside his father, handing out candy tagged “Goldwater for President.”⁠[1]

He graduated from the University of Idaho in 1977 with a bachelor of science degree in agribusiness, then turned down job offers to return to the family ranch.⁠[1][2]

Little has operated and managed a family cattle, farming and investment business in Idaho’s Treasure Valley, has been involved with the small manufacturing company Performance Design, LLC, and has served as a director of Home Federal Bank.⁠[2]

In 2001 Governor Dirk Kempthorne appointed Little to fill a vacancy in the Idaho Senate; he was then elected and re-elected, serving four terms representing District 11 until early 2009, and was chairman of the Senate Republican Caucus.⁠[2][1][3]

On January 6, 2009, Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter appointed Little lieutenant governor to fill the vacancy left when Jim RischJim RischJim Risch (James E. Risch, born 1943) is an American Republican politician who served as lieutenant governor and governor of Idaho, was elected a U.S. Senator from Idaho in 2008 and chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In November 2026 he won a fourth Senate term.Open the full entry moved to the U.S. Senate. Little was elected to the office in 2010 and re-elected in 2014.⁠[2][1]

Little was elected Idaho’s 33rd governor in 2018, took office in January 2019 and was re-elected in 2022.⁠[1][3]

As governor he oversaw the LAUNCH program, which funds education and training for in-demand careers, increased state education funding, directed tax dollars to private and religious K-12 education for the first time, and invested in roads and broadband. He signed more than $4 billion in tax cuts, including in 2025 the largest income tax cut in the state’s history.⁠[3]

In August 2025, after low revenue projections, he issued an executive order requiring state agencies other than K-12 education to cut their budgets by 3%; the Legislature then passed further cuts of 1% for the current fiscal year and 2% for the next. As of May 2026 that year’s budget recessions totaled $131 million and the state was on track for a surplus of about $94 million.⁠[3]

Idaho has no term limits for governor. In the Republican primary on May 19, 2026, Little, then 72, won about 58.96% of the unofficial vote in a field of eight candidates, ahead of runner-up Mark Fitzpatrick with about 28.71%. As in his previous campaign, he did not debate the other candidates; he had raised about $1.9 million, far more than his Republican challengers.⁠[3]

In the November 3 general election Little sought a third term as governor against Democrat Terri PickensTerri PickensTerri Pickens is a Boise, Idaho, attorney and Democratic politician, the founder of Pickens Law, P.A., and the Democratic nominee in Idaho’s 2026 election for governor.Open the full entry, independent John Stegner, a former Idaho Supreme Court justice, Libertarian Paul Sand and the Constitution Party’s Pro-Life.⁠[4]

The Associated Press projected Little the winner on the night of November 3, giving him a third term as governor. In a statement from the governor’s office on November 4, Little said he was “grateful and humbled by Idahoans’ continued confidence and support” and proud of what had been accomplished over the previous eight years.⁠[5][6]

Brad Little for Idaho: Official website: https://www.bradlittleforidaho.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[1]