1966 Idaho gubernatorial election
The 1966 Idaho gubernatorial election was held on November 8. Republican nominee Don Samuelson defeated Democratic nominee Cecil Andrus with 41.4% of the vote in a four-way race.
In early August, three-term incumbent Robert E. Smylie, the dean of American governors, was soundly defeated in the Republican primary by Samuelson. Andrus was a close runner-up in the Democratic primary to Charles Herndon, who was killed in a plane crash six weeks later in September.
This was the sixth consecutive Republican victory for governor, but Democrats won the next six, with four by Andrus. The next gubernatorial election in 1970 was a rematch, with different results.
Primary elections
Primary elections were held on August 2, 1966.Democratic primary
Candidates
- Charles Herndon, Salmon attorney
- Cecil Andrus, Orofino state senator
- William J. Dee, Grangeville state senator
Results
- Herndon was killed in a plane crash in the central Idaho mountains in mid-September.
Republican primary
Candidates
- Don Samuelson, Sandpoint state senator
- Robert E. Smylie, three-term incumbent governor
General election
Candidates
Major party candidates- Don Samuelson, Republican
- Cecil Andrus, Democratic
- Perry Swisher, Independent, Pocatello state senator
- Philip Jungert, Independent, Lewiston businessman