This story will be updated after polls close at 8 p.m. and as election results come in.

Candidates and Republican Party loyalists are meeting at the Riverside Hotel in Garden City on Tuesday as they await the numbers that will shape the political parameters of the Idaho Legislature for the next two years.

The night’s consequences will test the competing platforms within the state GOP before the will of voters, who are making choices about the direction the party takes. In many of Idaho’s 35 legislative districts, far-right candidates and more establishment Republicans are vying for victory.

The choices on Republican and Democratic ballots will determine which candidates become the party nominees for November, when the parties contend for seats. In many districts in Idaho, where Republicans outnumber Democrats by more than four to one, the Republican nominee is all but certain to win in November.

Will there be new lawmakers?

Tuesday’s results come on the heels of a tumultuous legislative session, where fights within the GOP caucus boiled over and resulted in the ouster of Rep. Megan Blanksma, R-Hammett, from her House majority leader position.

The Idaho Senate took a rightward turn after the 2022 primary elections, when numerous far-right candidates beat out more establishment candidates for their party’s nomination. Dozens of seats in the Legislature were filled with new lawmakers, including nearly half of the Senate.

Tonight, several of those lawmakers face repeat challenges from former legislators who lost their seats in 2022, including Sen. Brian Lenney, R-Nampa, who faces Jeff Agenbroad, and Sen. Scott Herndon, R-Sagle, who faces Jim Woodward.

A smaller number of lawmakers have vacated their seats this cycle than in 2022: Seven House seats and one Senate seat are certain to have new lawmakers.

In Boise, three currently Democratic House seats will have a new lawmaker come next year, including a competitive four-way race for the District 16 House seat B.

Polls close at 8 p.m., with initial results expected soon after. As of Tuesday morning, more than 47,000 people had already returned their absentee ballots, close to 70% of the ballots issued.