Branden Durst

On November 20, 2013, Durst submitted his resignation from the Idaho Senate effective December 1, 2013, to Gov. Butch Otter. It was found out that Durst was splitting his time between Boise and the Seattle area, where his family had relocated. He was succeeded by Ward-Engelking.

In January 2012 Durst announced his intention to run against Toryanski again. Durst defeated Matthew Duncan in the Democratic primary with 77.1% of the vote.

In 2010, Durst ran for the open seat in the Idaho Senate in his southeast Boise district vacated by Kate Kelly, but lost to Republican Mitch Toryanski by 103 votes. Fellow Democrat Janie Ward-Engelking ran for Durst's House seat, but lost by a nine-vote margin to Ellsworth.

In 2008, Durst had become one of the top targets of the Idaho Republican Party. This prompted five-term legislator Julie Ellsworth to challenge Durst. Ellsworth, who had lost in 2006 to Democrat Phylis King. Durst defeated Ellsworth by a 51/49 margin.

Durst first ran for the Idaho Legislature in 2006 when he challenged then six-term incumbent Debbie Field. Field had also taken on the responsibility of serving as campaign manager for the gubernatorial campaign of C. L. "Butch" Otter. Durst won the race by a slim 176-vote margin.

Branden John Durst (born January 15, 1980) is a former center-right, pro-life, Evangelical Christian politician from Boise, Idaho. He was born in Boise, Idaho. Durst represented Idaho's 18th Legislative District in the Idaho Senate from 2012 to 2013. He previously represented Idaho's 18th Legislative District in the Idaho House of Representatives from 2006 to 2010. Until his December 2013 resignation he was the youngest member of the Idaho Senate. Durst lives in Boise, Idaho.

Durst was born at St. Luke's Hospital in Boise, Idaho in 1980. He grew up in south Boise and attended public schools and was a third generation graduate of Boise High School. Durst was involved in club soccer, baseball, wrestling, DECA, Young Life, and assorted church activities.