Idaho high school government students participating in the Idaho Mock Student Election were deeply divided in the race for governor, but they gave the edge to GOP Gov. Butch Otter, with 679 votes to Democrat A.J. Balukoff’s 617 votes. Libertarian John Bujak trailed with 131 votes, independent Jill Humble with 122, “Pro-Life” with 99, and Constitution Party candidate Steve Pankey with 93.

That gave Otter 39 percent; Balukoff 35 percent; Bujak 7.5 percent; Humble 7 percent; Pro-Life 6 percent; and Pankey, 5 percent. In all other state races, students favored the Republican candidate over the Democratic candidate, from U.S. Senate to state superintendent of schools; the full results are online here. The students also were queried on an “advisory vote” asking if they’d support a federal or state government program to repay a portion of student loans with a two-year commitment to alternate community service; they overwhelmingly supported the idea, with 79 percent in favor.

Just 28 schools participated this year, down from 50 in 2010. But more of the students who were registered to participate actually did this year, at 55 percent, compared to 35 percent in 2010. Jim Mairs of the Idaho Secretary of State’s office noted that participation this year was much more heavily skewed to the 1^st Congressional District than the 2^nd. In 2008, the Idaho Student Mock Election results backed Barack Obama over John McCain; in 2012, students from 36 schools narrowly backed Mitt Romney over Obama, and overwhelmingly rejected the “Students Come First” school reform laws.

Mairs said the mock election isn’t intended as a “crystal ball” – instead, it’s a “voting exercise.” “I think it went really well,” he said. “It’s designed to provide teachers with an enhancement to their curriculum.”