Philip Eugene Batt (March 4, 1927 – March 4, 2023) was an American politician who served as the 29th Governor of Idaho from 1995 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, Batt had previously served as the 35th Lieutenant Governor of Idaho, Chair of the

Idaho Republican Party The Idaho Republican Party (IDGOP) is the Idaho state affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), United States Republican Party, headquartered in Boise, Idaho, Boise. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling both of I ...

, and as a member of the

Idaho Legislature The Idaho Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the 43rd State of Idaho and is bicameral, consisting of the upper chamber of the Idaho Senate and the lower chamber of the Idaho House of Representatives. The state of Idaho ...

Early life and education

Born in

Wilder, Idaho Wilder is a city in Canyon County, Idaho, Canyon County, Idaho, United States. The population was 1,533 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Wilder is part of the Boise, Idaho, Boise City–Nampa, Idaho, Nampa, Idaho Boise metropol ...

, Batt was the fifth and youngest child of John and Elizabeth Karn Batt. He graduated from Wilder High School. 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 and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

at Lowry Field,

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, 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, United States. Established in 1889 and opened three years later, it was the state's sole university for 71 years, until 1963. The un ...

and studied

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

, lived in the dorms, and led a dance band, playing

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

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 (whi ...

. (Half a century later as governor, Batt played with

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, percussionist, and bandleader. He worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, an ...

Moscow, Idaho Moscow ( ) is a city and the county seat of Latah County, Idaho. Located in the North Central Idaho, North Central region of the state along the border with Washington (state), Washington, it had a population of 25,435 at the 2020 United States ...

at the jazz legend's UI festival.)

Career

State offices

Before becoming governor, Batt had been a Republican politician in Idaho for thirty years, serving in the

state legislature A state legislature is a Legislature, legislative branch or body of a State (country subdivision), political subdivision in a Federalism, federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of ...

(

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

1965–1967,

state senate In the United States, the state legislature is the legislative branch in each of the 50 U.S. states. A legislature generally performs state duties for a state in the same way that the United States Congress performs national duties at ...

1967–1979), and as the 35th

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

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 Cecil 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 had previously run 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 District of Columbia, federal district, or of any of the Territories of the United States, territories is the chief legal advisor to the State governments of the United States, sta ...

Larry Echo Hawk 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. 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. It is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, nuclear decommissioning, rare-earth mining, and nuclear ...

storage in Idaho.

Later career

Batt was one of Idaho's

presidential electors In the United States, the Electoral College is the group of presidential electors that is formed every four years for the sole purpose of voting for the president and vice president in the presidential election. This process is described in ...

for

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

during the

2000 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 7, 2000. Republican Party (United States), Republican Governor George W. Bush of Texas, the eldest son of 41st President George H. W. Bush, ...

. Batt self-published two books after 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, supported Add The Words.

Memorials

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 ...

has two memorials to Batt, with both acknowledging his work while in government: the Philip E. Batt Building of the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights, which opened in October 2024, as well as the Philip E. Batt Building of the

Idaho Transportation Department The Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) is the state of Idaho Government agency, governmental organization responsible for state transportation infrastructure. This includes ongoing Maintenance, repair and operations, operations and maintenanc ...

, dedicated as such in June 2013.

Personal life

On January 9, 1948, in

Potlatch, Idaho Potlatch is a city in the Northwestern United States, northwest United States, located in North Central Idaho, north central Idaho in Latah County, Idaho, Latah County, about east of the border with Washington (state), Washington. On the Palouse ...

, Batt eloped with Jacque Fallis of

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

, a member of the

Delta Delta Delta Delta Delta Delta (), also known as Tri Delta, is an international collegiate Fraternities and sororities in North America, women's fraternity. It was founded on November 27, 1888 at Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts. History File:S ...

sorority In North America, fraternities and sororities ( and ) are social clubs at colleges and universities. They are sometimes collectively referred to as Greek life or Greek-letter organizations, as well as collegiate fraternities or collegiate sorori ...

. 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 on September 7, 2014, after 66 years of marriage. In 2015, at age 88, Batt married Francee Riley of Boise. Batt died on March 4, 2023, the morning of his 96th birthday.

Election history

References

External links

Idaho Public Television: Phil Batt

* , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Batt, Phil 1927 births 2023 deaths 2000 United States presidential electors 20th-century members of the Idaho Legislature American people of English descent Baptists from Idaho Farmers from Idaho Lieutenant governors of Idaho Military personnel from Idaho People from Wilder, Idaho Republican Party governors of Idaho Republican Party Idaho state senators Republican Party members of the Idaho House of Representatives United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II United States Army Air Forces soldiers Place of death missing