Butch Otter

Butch Otter's first marriage was in 1964 to Gay Simplot, the only daughter of J. R. Simplot. They have four children, three daughters and a son, and seven grandchildren. Otter separated from his first wife in 1992, after 28 years of marriage. The Catholic Church annulled their marriage before Otter married for a second time.

He married his longtime girlfriend Lori Easley on August 18, 2006, in Meridian. Lori is a former Miss Idaho USA and an educator. The two met while Lori was running for the beauty pageant in 1991. Otter faced criticism from social conservatives because of the fact that Lori is 25 years younger to him.

Butch Otter was born on May 3, 1942 in Caldwell, Idaho in a poor Catholic family. He is the sixth of Joseph Bernard Otter and Regina Mary’s nine children.

His father worked as a journeyman electrician while his mother ran a farm. The family travelled constantly, for which reason Otter had to attend 15 different schools during his childhood.

During his school days, Otter didn't get good grades and thought that he would have to settle for a blue-collar job. He sometimes worked as a janitor, theater ticket taker and lawn boy during his school years.

Determined to get an education, he graduated from St. Teresa's Academy (Bishop Kelly High School) in 1962, at the age of 20, despite a family accident that forced him to take a year off. After school, he briefly attended St. Martin's Abbey in Lacey, Washington, but decided against becoming a priest.

He eventually returned to Idaho to attend Boise Junior College. He completed his bachelor's degree in political science from the College of Idaho in 1967.

After his marriage in 1964, Butch Otter started working in his father-in-law J.R. Simplot's agribusiness corporation. Despite the fact that Simplot was a billionaire businessman and Otter a poor man, they got along well with each other as Simplot also grew up poor and never finished the eighth grade.

Otter started at the bottom of the company, doing menial job in Simplot Caldwell Potato Plant. However, within four years of getting his bachelor's degree, Otter was promoted to the position of vice-president of J.R. Simplot Company. In 1979, he became president of Simplot International. During this time, he traveled to nearly 80 countries to promote the company.

Before starting his political career, he also served in the military from 1968 to 1973. He was part of the Idaho Army National Guard's 116th Armored Cavalry.

Butch Otter's political career started in 1969 when he was appointed assistant secretary and parliamentarian of the Idaho Senate. In 1972, he was elected a member of the Idaho State House of Representatives from Canyon County. He would later be re-elected to the Idaho House in 1974 and 1976.

He first made a long-shot attempt to be Governor of Idaho in 1978. Even though he could not win the Republican primary, he ranked a close third with 26.0% of the vote.

He was elected Lieutenant Governor of Idaho in 1986 and served a record 14 years in that post. During his tenure, he served under three different governors. He left the post in 2001 without completing his fourth term to take his Congressional seat.

His position as the Lieutenant Governor made him a favorite in the Republican primary to represent Idaho's 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House in 2001. He won the seat easily and kept his position till 2007.

In 2006, Otter won the Republican primary with 70% of the vote and defeated Democrat Jerry Brady in the November 7 general election for the Governor of Idaho. He assumed office in January 2007 and has since been re-elected twice in 2010 and 2014.