Phil Batt

Phil Batt
29th Governor of Idaho
In office January 2, 1995 – January 8, 1999
Lieutenant	C. L. "Butch" Otter
Preceded by	Cecil D. Andrus
Succeeded by	Dirk Kempthorne
35th Lieutenant Governor of Idaho
In office January 1, 1979 – January 3, 1983
Governor	John V. Evans
Preceded by	William J. Murphy
Succeeded by	David H. Leroy
34th President pro tempore of the Idaho Senate
In office December 1, 1976 – December 1, 1978
Preceded by	James Ellsworth
Succeeded by	Reed Budge
Personal details
Born	March 4, 1927 (1927-03-04) Wilder, Idaho, United States
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Jacque Fallis Batt
Residence	Wilder
Profession	Farmer, politician
Religion	Baptist

Philip Eugene Batt (born March 4, 1927 in Wilder, Idaho) was the 29th Governor of Idaho from 1995 to 1999.

Batt was an onion and hops farmer from Wilder. Before becoming governor, he had been a Republican politician in Idaho for 30 years, serving in the Idaho Legislature (Idaho House of Representatives 1965–67, Idaho Senate 1967–79) and as the 35th Lieutenant Governor of Idaho from 1979 to 1983. He ran for governor in 1982 and was defeated in a close race by the Democratic incumbent, John V. Evans. Future U.S Senator and Governor Dirk Kempthorne served as his campaign manager.

After rebuilding the Idaho Republican Party into near-total dominance as party chairman in the early 1990s, Batt re-entered electoral politics. In 1994, Batt won the Republican gubernatorial primary with 48% of the vote, and defeated the Democratic candidate, State Attorney General Larry EchoHawk, in the general election 52% to 44%. Despite polls putting his popularity at around 80%, he chose to serve only one term.

Among Batt's more notable accomplishments as governor were pushing through worker's compensation for agricultural workers and negotiating a pact limiting nuclear waste storage in Idaho. During his term, Idaho's cabinet had a higher percentage of women than any other state.

He has self-published two books since leaving office, a memoir titled The Compleat Phil Batt: A Kaleidoscope (ISBN 0-9677135-5-2), in 1999, and a compilation of humorous stories, Life as a Geezer, in 2002.

Early life

The fifth and youngest child of John and Elizabeth Karn Batt, he grew up on a farm near Wilder in southwestern Idaho. Though his paternal grandparents were Mormon missionary immigrants from England, Batt was raised a Baptist, as this was his mother's faith. Due to a shortage of students, he started first grade early (age 5.5), but later missed a fall semester in high school during World War II to help his father with the harvest and graduated mid-year during the 1944–45 school year. Batt had enlisted in the service on his 17th birthday in 1944; with a brother-in-law killed at Guadalcanal (and a brother who later lost an arm at Okinawa), he aimed to be a fighter pilot to avenge the damage to his family. Still not 18, he briefly attended the University of Idaho in Moscow in north Idaho, then entered the Army Air Forces in 1945 and was in basic training during V-J Day.

With the war over, fighter pilots were not needed so Batt served 16 months at Lowry Field in Denver as a clerk, discharging veterans before being discharged himself. He then returned to the UI and studied chemical engineering, lived in the dorms, and led a dance band, playing clarinet and tenor saxophone. A year later in January 1948, he eloped with Jacque Fallis of Spokane, a member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority. 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.

References

Political offices
Preceded by William J. Murphy	Lieutenant Governor of Idaho January 1, 1979 – January 3, 1983	Succeeded by David H. Leroy
Preceded by Cecil D. Andrus	Governor of Idaho January 5, 1995 – January 4, 1999	Succeeded by Dirk Kempthorne
Party political offices
Preceded by Allan Larsen	Republican Party nominee, Governor of Idaho 1982 (lost)	Succeeded by David H. Leroy
Preceded by Roger Fairchild	Republican Party nominee, Governor of Idaho 1994 (won)	Succeeded by Dirk Kempthorne