Philip Eugene Batt (born March 4, 1927) is an American politician who served as the 29th

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

from 1995 to 1999. Batt had previously served as the 35th

lieutenant governor of Idaho The lieutenant governor of Idaho is a constitutional statewide elected office in the U.S. state of Idaho. According to the Idaho Constitution, the officeholder is elected to a four-year term. The current lieutenant governor of Idaho is Republican ...

, Chair of the

Idaho Republican Party The Idaho Republican Party (IDGOP) is the Idaho state affiliate of the United States Republican Party, headquartered in Boise. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling both of Idaho's U.S. House seats, both U.S. Senate seat ...

, and as a member of the

Idaho Legislature The Idaho Legislature consists of the upper Idaho Senate and the lower Idaho House of Representatives. Idaho is divided into 35 legislative districts, which each elect one senator and two representatives. There are no term limits for either ...

. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Early life and education

Born in Wilder,

, Batt was the fifth and youngest child of John and Elizabeth Karn Batt. Batt served sixteen months in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Lowry Field Lowry Air Force Base (Lowry Field in 1938–1948) is a former United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) training base during World War II and a United States Air Force (USAF) training base during the Cold War, serving as the initial 1955–1958 si ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

, working as a clerk discharging veterans. He then returned to the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The Universit ...

and studied

chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials int ...

, lived in the

dorms A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university ...

, and led a dance band, playing

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

and

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

. (Half a century later as governor, Batt played with Lionel Hampton in Moscow at the jazz legend's UI festival.)

Career

State offices

Before becoming governor, Batt had been a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politician in Idaho for thirty years, serving in the state legislature ( house 1965–67,

state senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

1967–79), and as the 35th lieutenant governor from 1979 to 1983. He ran for governor in 1982 and was defeated in a close race by the Democratic incumbent, John Evans. The election was so close that at least one television network declared Batt the winner on Election Night. Batt returned to the state senate with victories in 1984 and 1986, then resigned in the spring of 1988 to sit on the three-member state transportation board, appointed by Governor Andrus.

Idaho Republican Party

Batt was elected chairman of the

in January 1991, and after a successful two years, he stepped aside in April 1993 to re-enter electoral politics in 1994. Batt ran for the post in 1968 and lost to Roland Wilber, 127 to 218.

Governor

Batt won the Republican gubernatorial primary in 1994 with 48% of the vote, and defeated

state attorney general The state attorney general in each of the 50 U.S. states, of the federal district, or of any of the territories is the chief legal advisor to the state government and the state's chief law enforcement officer. In some states, the attorney gener ...

Larry EchoHawk Larry J. Echo Hawk (born August 2, 1948) is an American attorney, legal scholar, and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, Echo Hawk served under U.S. President Barack Obama as the United States Assistant Secretary of the Interior for In ...

in the general election 52% to 44%, for the first GOP victory for governor in 28 years. Despite high popularity, he chose to serve only one term, citing his age, and left office at age 71. Succeeding Batt, Kempthorne won two terms,

Butch Otter Clement Leroy "Butch" Otter (born May 3, 1942) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 32nd governor of Idaho from 2007 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected in 2006, and reelected in 2010, and 2014. Otter ...

three terms, and

Brad Little Bradley Jay Little (born February 15, 1954) is an American politician serving as the 33rd governor of Idaho since January 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 42nd lieutenant governor of Idaho from 2009 to 2019 and as an Idah ...

one term, giving the Republicans seven consecutive wins through 2018. Among Batt's more notable accomplishments as governor was pushing through worker's compensation for agricultural workers and negotiating a pact limiting

nuclear waste Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. Radioactive waste is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, rare-earth mining, and nuclear weapons ...

storage in Idaho.

Later career

Batt was one of Idaho's

presidential elector The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia app ...

for

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

during the 2000 United States presidential election. Batt has self-published two books since leaving office, a memoir titled ''The Compleat Phil Batt: A Kaleidoscope'' in 1999, and a compilation of humorous stories, ''Life as a Geezer'', in 2003. Batt, who has a gay grandson who lives out of state, supports Add The Words.

Personal life

On January 9, 1948 in

Potlatch, Idaho Potlatch is a city in the northwest United States, located in north central Idaho in Latah County, about east of the border with Washington. On the Palouse north of Moscow, it is served by State Highway 6, and bordered on the northeast by the sm ...

, he eloped with Jacque Fallis of

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...

, a member of the

Delta Delta Delta Delta Delta Delta (), also known as Tri Delta, is an international women's fraternity founded on November 27, 1888 at Boston University by Sarah Ida Shaw, Eleanor Dorcas Pond, Isabel Morgan Breed, and Florence Isabelle Stewart. Tri Delta part ...

sorority Fraternities and sororities are social organizations at colleges and universities in North America. Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student, but continues thereafter for life. Some accept gradua ...

. The newlyweds had to leave school a month later when Batt's 66-year-old father was involved in a serious automobile accident which left him with limited strength and speech. Though the young Batts initially hoped to return to college, economic circumstances changed their plans and they reluctantly did not. Jacque Batt died after 66 years of marriage. In 2015, at the age of 88, Batt married Francee Riley of Boise.

Election history

References

External links

Idaho Public Television: Phil Batt

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Batt, Phil 1927 births Living people Republican Party governors of Idaho Lieutenant Governors of Idaho Republican Party Idaho state senators Republican Party members of the Idaho House of Representatives Farmers from Idaho American people of English descent Baptists from Idaho People from Wilder, Idaho Military personnel from Idaho United States Army Air Forces soldiers United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II 2000 United States presidential electors 20th-century American politicians