The 2016 Idaho Democratic presidential caucuses took place on March 22 in the U.S. state of

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

as one of the Democratic Party's primaries ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Voters convened in each of Idaho's 44 counties at 7 p.m.

Mountain Standard Time The Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) when standard time ( UTC−07:00) is in effect, and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time ( UTC−06:00). The clo ...

/6 p.m

Pacific Standard Time The Pacific Time Zone (PT) is a time zone encompassing parts of western Canada, the western United States, and western Mexico. Places in this zone observe standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time ( UTC−08:00). ...

to proportionally allocate the state's 27 delegates to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

in Philadelphia in July.

Campaigning

Both major candidates made efforts to either send surrogates or campaign themselves in Idaho before the caucuses took place. On March 17, Olympian

Michelle Kwan Michelle Wingshan Kwan (born July 7, 1980) is a retired American competitive figure skating, figure skater and diplomat who served as List of ambassadors of the United States to Belize, United States Ambassador to Belize from 2022 to 2025. In ...

campaigned for

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

Boise State University Boise State University (BSU) is a Public university, public research university in Boise, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has b ...

, where she spoke to about 150 supporters. On March 18,

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Vermont. He is the longest-serving independ ...

spoke at a local high school in Idaho Falls, Idaho, drawing approximately 3,200 supporters. On March 21, the day before the Democratic caucuses, Sanders spoke to approximately 7,000 supporters at the Taco Bell Arena on the campus of Boise State University.

Aftermath

The caucus was later regarded as having prepared the ground for the Paulette Jordan gubernatorial campaign two years later, inasmuch as it demonstrated the popularity of progressive policy proposals amongst the Idahoan left.

Opinion polling

Results

Gallery

File:BernieInBoise.jpeg, Sen. Sanders speaks to a packed arena at

the day before the caucuses. File:2016AdaCountyDemocraticCaucusBernieSupporters.jpg, A portion of the Bernie Sanders side at the Ada County caucus

Analysis

Sanders won Idaho by a four-to-one margin over Hillary Clinton, a similarly large landslide win to that of

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

over Clinton in the Idaho caucuses eight years prior. In a majority

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rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

, and ideologically

libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

electorate, Sanders had the upper hand. He won all counties but one on election day, carrying the major cities of

Boise Boise ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Located on the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and nor ...

in Ada County, Pocatello in Bannock County, and

Idaho Falls Idaho Falls is the List of cities in Idaho, fourth most populous city in Idaho and the county seat of Bonneville County, Idaho, Bonneville County. It is the state's most populous city outside the Boise metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United St ...

in Bonneville County. He was also bolstered by rural support from Southern Idaho to the Northern Panhandle, and in Central Idaho including Treasure Valley. Such regions are among the most remote and radically

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

areas of the country. The Ada County caucus, held at CenturyLink Arena, which was the largest caucus in U.S. history, easily broke the

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record, with many voters waiting in line for three or four hours in brisk

wind chill Wind chill (popularly wind chill factor) is the sensation of cold produced by the wind for a given ambient air temperature on exposed skin as the air motion accelerates the rate of heat transfer from the body to the surrounding atmosphere. Its va ...

. The mile-long line stretched for several city blocks; more than 9,100 voters participated in what was called a "massive" turnout, especially given Idaho's status as a Republican stronghold. Sanders won 78.0% of the vote statewide; only his home state of

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

, and

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

had given him a wider margin of victory.

References

{{2016 Democratic primaries

Democratic primary

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