Russ Fulcher


Russell Mark Fulcher is an American politician serving as the U.S. Representative for Idaho's 1st congressional district since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the Idaho Senate where he represented Legislative District 21 from 2005 to 2012 and Legislative District 22 from 2012 until 2014.
Fulcher ran for the position of Governor of Idaho in 2014 but narrowly lost the nomination to incumbent Butch Otter. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018 and succeeded incumbent Raúl Labrador, who retired from Congress to run, unsuccessfully, for Governor of Idaho.

Personal life and private career

A fourth-generation Idahoan, Russ Fulcher was born in Boise, Idaho, but grew up on a dairy farm in Meridian, Idaho. He married Kara Fulcher and together they have three children. The couple were divorced in 2018. Fulcher received both a bachelor's and master's degree in business administration from Boise State University in 1984 and 1988, respectively. He also completed a course on electronic engineering through Micron Technology.
While a member of the Idaho legislature, Fulcher worked as a broker in the commercial real estate business. Prior to that, he was in Idaho's technology industry doing business in 47 countries for 24 years. Fulcher spent much of that time working in international business development with Micron Technology.

Idaho Senate

Idaho Senate District 21

In 2005, Fulcher was appointed by Governor Dirk Kempthorne to the Idaho State Senate representing Idaho's 21st Legislative District, which encompasses large portions of Boise, Meridian and Kuna, to replace Jack Noble, who resigned after a conflict of interest. Fulcher was first elected in 2006 and served through 2012.

Idaho Senate District 22

Fulcher then served in the Idaho Senate representing District 22 from 2012 to 2014.
He served has State Senate Majority Caucus Leader from 2008 to 2012, and from 2013 to 2014.

Committees

Fulcher served on the following Committees:

Elections

2018 general election

On June 15, 2017, Fulcher announced that he would seek the Republican nomination for Idaho's 1st congressional district in the 2018 election.
He was endorsed by the incumbent representative, Raúl Labrador, and Texas Senator Ted Cruz.
Fulcher won the Idaho Republican Party primary with 43.1% of the vote, defeating David H. Leroy, Luke Malek, Christy Perry, Michael Snyder, Alex Gallegos, and Nick Henderson. Fulcher won 18 of 19 counties in Idaho's 1st congressional district. He was one of two candidates to win his home county.
He won the general election in November with 62.7% of the vote, defeating Cristina McNeil, W. Scott Howard, and Marvin "Pro-Life" Richardson.

Tenure

Committee assignments

Electoral history

Other political campaigns

2014 gubernatorial race

On November 23, 2013, Fulcher officially announced his intention to run against incumbent governor Butch Otter in the 2014 Idaho gubernatorial election. Fulcher was endorsed by Congressman Raúl Labrador.
Fulcher lost against Otter in the Republican primary in May 2014, earning 43.6% of the vote.

2016 presidential election

Fulcher was a Ted Cruz delegate at the 2016 Republican National Convention. He supported Donald Trump in the general election.

2018 gubernatorial race

Fulcher announced on August 24, 2016, that he was running for governor.
On June 15, 2017, he announced that he was dropping out of the 2018 Idaho gubernatorial election and would instead run for Idaho's 1st congressional district in the 2018 cycle.

Awards and recognition