Phil Batt

Philip Eugene Batt (born March 4, 1927) is an American politician who served as the 29th Governor of Idaho from 1995 to 1999. Batt had previously served as the Lieutenant Governor of Idaho, Chair of the Idaho Republican Party, and as a member of the Idaho Legislature. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Phil Batt
Batt in 2010
29th Governor of Idaho
In office January 2, 1995 – January 8, 1999
Lieutenant	Butch Otter
Preceded by	Cecil Andrus
Succeeded by	Dirk Kempthorne
Chair of the Idaho Republican Party
In office 1991–1993
Preceded by	Randy Ayre
Succeeded by	N. Randy Smith
35th Lieutenant Governor of Idaho
In office January 1, 1979 – January 3, 1983
Governor	John Evans
Preceded by	William Murphy
Succeeded by	David Leroy
34th President pro tempore of the Idaho Senate
In office 1976–1978
Preceded by	James Ellsworth
Succeeded by	Reed Budge
Member of the Idaho Senate
In office 1967–1979 1985–1988
Member of the Idaho House of Representatives
In office 1965–1967
Personal details
Born	Philip Eugene Batt March 4, 1927 Wilder, Idaho, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Jacque Elaine Fallis ​ ​ (m. 1948; died 2014)​ Francee Reilly ​ (m. 2015)​
Children	3
Residence	Wilder, Idaho, U.S.
Education	University of Idaho (attended)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1945–46
Unit	Army Air Forces
Battles/wars	World War II

Early life and education

Born in Wilder, Idaho, Batt was the fifth and youngest child of John and Elizabeth Karn Batt.[1] Batt served sixteen months in Colorado at Lowry Field near Denver as a clerk, discharging veterans before being discharged himself. 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.[2][3][4] (Half a century later as governor, Batt played with Lionel Hampton in Moscow at the jazz legend's UI festival.)[5]

Career

State Offices

Before becoming governor, Batt had been a Republican politician in Idaho for thirty years, serving in the state legislature (house 1965–67, state senate 1967–79),[6] and as the 35th lieutenant governor from 1979 to 1983.[7] 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.[8][9]

Batt returned to the state senate with victories in 1984[10] and 1986, then resigned in the spring of 1988 to sit on the three-member state transportation board, appointed by Governor Andrus.[11]

Idaho Republican Party Chair

Batt was elected chairman of the Idaho Republican Party in January 1991,[12] and after a successful two years, he stepped aside in April 1993 to re-enter electoral politics in 1994.[13] Batt had previously ran for the post in 1968 and lost to Roland Wilber, 127 to 218.[14]

Governor

Batt won the Republican gubernatorial primary in 1994 with 48% of the vote, and defeated state attorney general Larry EchoHawk in the general election 52% to 44%,[15] for the first GOP victory for governor in 28 years.[16] Despite high popularity, he chose to serve only one term, citing his age, and left office at age 71.[17] Succeeding Batt, Kempthorne won two terms, Butch Otter three terms, and Brad Little one term, giving the Republicans seven consecutive wins through 2018. 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.[17]

Later career

Batt was a Presidential Elector for 2000 United States presidential election for George W. Bush in Idaho.[18]

Batt has self-published two books since 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, supports Add The Words.[19]

Personal life

On January 9, 1948 in Potlatch, Idaho, he eloped with Jacque Fallis of Spokane,[20] a member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority.[21] 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.[22]

Election history

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%
1994		Larry Echo Hawk	191,362	45.2%		Phil Batt	216,123	51.1%		Ronald Rankin	Independent	15,793	3.7%

References

1. Kuykendall, Martha. "Philip E. Batt". Martha's Extended Family. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
2. Miller, Dean (June 13, 1994). "Batt jazzes up his campaign". Spokesman-Review. p. A6.
3. "Freshmen". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1947. p. 111.
4. "Sophomores". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1948. p. 135.
5. White, Vera (March 2, 1998). "He's no Benny Goodman, but Benny wasn't governor". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. p. 1A.
6. "Batt tries a big chair on 'Short People's Day'". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. December 17, 1977. p. 1A.
7. "Idaho Governor Philip E. Batt". National Governors Association. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
8. Kennedy, John (November 4, 1982). "Gov. Evans rejoices, Batt talks about quitting politics". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Associated Press. p. 1C.
9. "Phil Batt has seen close races before". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Associated Press. December 18, 2000. p. 7A.
10. "Election results". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Associated Press. November 8, 1984. p. 7C.
11. "Batt makes retirement official". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Associated Press. February 26, 1988. p. 4B.
12. "Idaho Republicans elect Phil Batt chairman". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Associated Press. January 13, 1991. p. 1B.
13. "Randy Smith is elected to succeed Phil Batt". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Associated Press. April 23, 1993. p. 4C.
14. Idaho Statesman (Boise, Idaho), June 16, 1968:
15. "Election results". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Associated Press. November 10, 1994. p. 8C.
16. "Batt rescues Republican". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Associated Press. November 10, 1994. p. 1C.
17. "Batt says Republicans shouldn't let guard down". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. Associated Press. September 18, 1997. p. 3B.
18. "U. S. Electoral College". www.archives.gov. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
19. http://www.idahostatesman.com/2014/02/27/3052247/batt-urges-idaho-lawmakers-to.html
20. "Juniors". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1947. p. 96.
21. "Delta Delta Delta". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1947. p. 300.
22. The Compleat Phil Batt: A Kaleidoscope (ISBN 0-9677135-5-2), 1999, p. 3-16

External links

• Idaho Public Television: Phil Batt
• The Almanac of American Politics: Phil Batt
• National Governors Association
• Appearances on C-SPAN