Phil Batt

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Phil Batt
Batt in 2010
29th Governor of Idaho
In office
January 2, 1995 – January 4, 1999
LieutenantButch Otter
Preceded byCecil Andrus
Succeeded byDirk Kempthorne
Chair of the Idaho Republican Party
In office
1991–1993
Preceded byRandy Ayre
Succeeded byN. Randy Smith
35th Lieutenant Governor of Idaho
In office
January 1, 1979 – January 3, 1983
GovernorJohn Evans
Preceded byWilliam Murphy
Succeeded byDavid Leroy
34th President pro tempore of the Idaho Senate
In office
1976–1978
Preceded byJames Ellsworth
Succeeded byReed Budge
Personal details
BornPhilip Eugene Batt
(1927-03-04)March 4, 1927
Wilder, Idaho, U.S.
DiedMarch 4, 2023(2023-03-04) (aged 96)
PartyRepublican
Spouses
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1948; died 2014)​
  • Francee Reilly
    ​
    (m. 2015)​
Children3
EducationUniversity of Idaho (attended)
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Army
Years of service1945–1946
UnitArmy Air Forces
Battles/warsWorld War II

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, and as a member of the Idaho Legislature.

Early life and education

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Born in Wilder, Idaho, Batt was the fifth and youngest child of John and Elizabeth Karn Batt.[1] He graduated from Wilder High School.[2] Batt served sixteen months in the United States Army Air Forces during and after World War II at Lowry Field, Colorado, working as a clerk discharging veterans. He then returned to the University of Idaho and studied chemical engineering, lived in the dorms, and led a dance band, playing clarinet and tenor saxophone.[3][4][5] (Half a century later as governor, Batt played with Lionel Hampton in Moscow, Idaho at the jazz legend's UI festival.)[6]

Career

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State offices

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Before becoming governor, Batt had been a Republican politician in Idaho for thirty years, serving in the state legislature (house 1965–1967, state senate 1967–1979),[7] and as the 35th lieutenant governor from 1979 to 1983.[8] 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.[9][10]

Batt returned to the state senate with victories in 1984[11] and 1986, then resigned in the spring of 1988 to sit on the three-member state transportation board, appointed by Governor Cecil Andrus.[12]

Idaho Republican Party

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Batt was elected chairman of the Idaho Republican Party in January 1991,[13] and after a successful two years, he stepped aside in April 1993 to re-enter electoral politics in 1994.[14] Batt had previously run for the post in 1968 and lost to Roland Wilber, 127 to 218.[15]

Governor

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Batt won the Republican gubernatorial primary in 1994 with 48% of the vote, and defeated state attorney general Larry Echo Hawk in the general election 52% to 44%,[16] for the first GOP victory for governor in 28 years.[17] Despite high popularity, he chose to serve only one term, citing his age, and left office at age 71.[18] Among Batt's more notable accomplishments as governor was pushing through worker's compensation for agricultural workers and negotiating a pact limiting nuclear waste storage in Idaho.[18]

Later career

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Batt was one of Idaho's presidential electors for George W. Bush during the 2000 United States presidential election.[19] 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 had a gay grandson, supported Add The Words.[20]

Memorials

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Boise 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,[21] which opened in October 2024,[22] as well as the Philip E. Batt Building of the Idaho Transportation Department, dedicated as such in June 2013.[21][23]

Personal life

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On January 9, 1948, in Potlatch, Idaho, Batt eloped with Jacque Fallis of Spokane,[24] a member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority.[25] 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.[26]

Jacque Batt died on September 7, 2014, after 66 years of marriage.[27] In 2015, at age 88, Batt married Francee Riley of Boise.[28] Batt died on March 4, 2023, the morning of his 96th birthday.[2]

Election history

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Idaho Gubernatorial Elections: Results 1982, 1994
Year Democrat Votes Pct Republican Votes Pct 3rd Party Party Votes Pct
1982 John Evans (inc.) 165,365 50.6% Phil Batt 161,157 49.4% [29]
1994 Larry Echo Hawk 181,363 43.9% Phil Batt 216,123 52.3% Ronald Rankin Independent 15,793 3.8% [16]


References

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