Idaho's 2nd congressional district is one of two

congressional district Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional body. Countries with congressional districts includ ...

s in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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), ...

, in the eastern portion of the state. Beginning with the 2012 election, the district expanded westward and now includes most 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 ...

, the state capital and largest city. The district is currently represented by

Mike Simpson Michael Keith Simpson (born September 8, 1950) is an American politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for since 1999. The district covers most of the eastern portion of the state, including Idaho Fa ...

, a Republican of Idaho Falls. A former dentist in Blackfoot, he was first elected in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

; the seat opened when his predecessor

Mike Crapo Michael Dean Crapo ( ; born May 20, 1951) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Idaho, a seat he has held since 1999. A member of the Rep ...

successfully ran for the U.S. Senate.

History

After statehood in 1890, Idaho had a single seat in Congress through the

1910 Events January * January 6 – Abé people in the French West Africa colony of Côte d'Ivoire rise against the colonial administration; the rebellion is brutally suppressed by the military. * January 8 – By the Treaty of Punakha, t ...

election, a statewide

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather tha ...

seat. Following the 1910 census, Idaho gained its second seat in the House; it was first contested in

1912 This year is notable for Sinking of the Titanic, the sinking of the ''Titanic'', which occurred on April 15. In Albania, this leap year runs with only 353 days as the country achieved switching from the Julian to Gregorian Calendar by skippin ...

, but the state did not immediately apportion into two districts. Through the 1916 election, both were statewide at-large seats. The first election in Idaho with two congressional districts was in

1918 The ceasefire that effectively ended the World War I, First World War took place on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of this year. Also in this year, the Spanish flu pandemic killed 50–100 million people wor ...

. The district has largely retsined the same shape since the 1950s. Following the 2010 census and redistricting, the 2nd district was pushed slightly to the west, picking up much of northeast Ada County, including most of Boise. It now covers all of the capital north of Interstate 84. The 1st district had long been reckoned as "the Boise district", as it historically covered most of Boise. However, a significant increase in population directly west of Boise over the previous decade, in western ADA and

Canyon A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency t ...

counties, resulted in the 1st losing most of its share of the capital. The 1st continues to serve most of Boise's suburbs; in Ada County itself, it continues to include Meridian,

Eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

, and west Boise, south of Interstate 84. Other major cities in the 2nd district include

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 ...

, Pocatello, Twin Falls, Rexburg, Hailey, and Sun Valley.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

has a strong presence in the district; a member of the LDS Church has represented this district continuously since 1951.

Recent election results from statewide races

Composition

The 2nd district includes the entirety of the following counties, with the exception of Ada, which it shares with the 1st district. Ada County municipalities included within the 2nd district include Avimor, Hidden Springs, Garden City, and more than half of

.https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/cong_dist/cd118/cd_based/ST16/CD118_ID02.pdf

List of members representing the district

Election history

2002

2004

2006

2008

2010

2012

2014

2016

2018

2020

2022

2024

Historical district boundaries

References

* *
Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
{{coord, 43, N, 113, W, format=dms, display=title, type:adm1st_scale:5000000_region:US-ID 02 Constituencies established in 1919 1919 establishments in Idaho