State Senate In 1960, at age 28, and concerned over the local
Republican state senator's stance against needed
education improvements in Idaho schools, particularly in rural areas of the state, Andrus filed as a Democrat to run against him and won, and was re-elected in 1962 and 1964 from
Orofino (and
Clearwater County).
Gubernatorial candidate Andrus first ran for governor in
1966 but was narrowly defeated in the Democratic primary by Charles Herndon, an attorney from
Salmon. Seven weeks before the November election, Herndon and two others died in a twin-engine private plane crash in the mountains northwest of
Stanley, while en route from
Twin Falls to
Coeur d'Alene in mid-September. Andrus was appointed the nominee to take Herndon's place on the ballot. He lost the general election to Republican
Don Samuelson of
Sandpoint by more than 11,000 votes, earning Andrus the unlikely distinction of losing both the primary and general election races for the same office in the same year. He returned to the
state senate two years later, easily unseating the Republican incumbent in the and represented Herndon's widow, Lucille, was elected to several local political offices after
Governor of Idaho (1971–1977) Undaunted by his earlier setback, Andrus defeated Samuelson by over 10,000 votes in a gubernatorial election rematch in
1970. This was attributed in large part to Andrus's public opposition to proposals for development of
molybdenum mining in central Idaho's
White Cloud Mountains, which Samuelson supported. in Idaho's
Sawtooth Wilderness During his first term as governor, Andrus played a key role in winning support by the U.S. Congress for federal designation of the
Sawtooth Wilderness Area in the State of Idaho. In 1974,
Time magazine named Governor Andrus one of the "200 Faces for the Future".
Secretary of the Interior (1977–1981) In January 1977, Andrus left his post as governor to serve as
Secretary of the Interior for newly inaugurated President
Jimmy Carter, whom he had known since both were freshman governors in 1971. Andrus became the first Idahoan to serve in a
presidential cabinet. He was succeeded in Idaho by Lieutenant Governor
John V. Evans, a Democrat who served nearly a decade, winning elections in
1978 and
1982. Andrus also took a leadership role in securing Congressional passage of the
Redwood National Park Expansion Act in 1978. which added to Redwood National Park in California, in a major expansion to preserve remnants of the giant redwood forests there. in California In 1979, when President Carter asked for the resignations of his entire Cabinet during an administration retreat at
Camp David, the resignation of Andrus was not accepted. Andrus wrote in his memoir about such a need for compromise relative to his successful, last-ditch efforts in securing passage of the
Alaska Lands Act during the last month of the Carter Administration in December 1980, following
Ronald Reagan's election in November: "The environmental groups were initially hostile. I actually had to listen to the idiotic argument (from the Wilderness Society and Sierra Club's paid Washington lobbyists) that they could get a better Alaska package out of Reagan and
Watt." "Cooler heads quickly prevailed", Andrus continues, "It proved the old adage that there's nothing like a hanging in the morning to focus the mind. Even though we were creating tomorrow's controversies, a 103-million acre [preservation] plan ... was a lot better than nothing."
Governor of Idaho again (1987–1995) After several years in private life following his return to Idaho in 1981, Andrus surprised many by seeking and recapturing the Idaho governorship in
1986, when he defeated Republican Lieutenant Governor
David Leroy in a close open seat election. The incumbent since succeeding Andrus in 1977, Evans had chosen to run for the
U.S. Senate, but lost. During this second stint as governor, Andrus vigorously opposed federal efforts to store nuclear waste in Idaho. He also brokered a path-breaking agreement among land use and conservation interests to control water pollution from nonpoint sources to protect riparian and fish habitat in Idaho's rivers and streams. In September 1989, Andrus closed off the Idaho border to
nuclear waste shipments from the federal government's
Rocky Flats site near
Denver. He initially agreed to open a temporary dump near
Idaho Falls to store waste until the federal government agreed to open a site near
Carlsbad, New Mexico. When the federal government failed to open the Carlsbad site, Andrus refused to accept shipments of
plutonium from Rocky Flats.
Secretary of Energy James D. Watkins did not challenge Andrus's authority to close the border. In 1990, Andrus drew attention when he vetoed a bill, passed by the legislature, which "would have made
abortion illegal except in cases of
non-statutory rape reported within seven days,
incest if the victim was under 18, severe
fetal deformity or where the
pregnancy posed a threat to the mother's life." Andrus was easily
re-elected later that year against conservative Republican state senator
Roger Fairchild of
Fruitland, and won every county except
Lemhi and
Jefferson. 's
Shoshone Fallsnear
Twin Falls, Idaho In his fourth and final term as governor, Andrus was again in the national spotlight due to the
Endangered Species Act listing of several
Snake River salmon species. These anadromous fish species spawn in their natal streams in Idaho and migrate seaward at a young age. Governor Andrus called attention to the downstream federal dams operated by the
Army Corps of Engineers as the major culprit. His successful lawsuit against the federal government led to incremental changes in operations of the dams, and to continuing efforts for major conservationist modifications to the dams that are ongoing today. On April 3, 1990, he signed
House Bill 817 into law, creating two new types of
felony crimes, defined new criminal investigation areas, provided the basis for opening
ritual child abuse cases based upon probable cause, and provided a framework for extensive ritual child abuse investigation training throughout Idaho. Despite remaining personally popular, Andrus did not seek a fifth term in
1994. At his death in 2017, he was the eleventh longest-serving governor in Andrus was succeeded by
Phil Batt of
Wilder, the first Republican to win a gubernatorial election in Idaho since 1966; he served a single term and did not seek a second in
1998. Andrus's re-election in
1990 was the sixth straight gubernatorial win by Democrats in Idaho (Evans in
1978,
1982), but is the most recent; Republicans have since won eight consecutive, through
2022.
Election results ==Elder statesman==