His father was appointed to the Idaho Supreme Court in November 1914, and the family relocated from Pocatello to Boise.

He was a member of the state legislature from 1939 through 1941 and in 1949 and served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, from 1942 through 1945, leaving as a lieutenant commander.

Both nominees were from Boise, and Budge defeated Democratic state senator James Hawley in the 1950 election to become the first Mormon to represent Idaho in either house of Congress.

He served in the House for ten years; an attempt at a sixth term came up short in 1960, with a loss to 31-year-old Democrat Ralph Harding of Blackfoot.

[1] He was a member of the Elks, Eagles, American Bar Association, and Sigma Alpha Epsilon[8] He died in 2003 at age 92 in Arizona.