[1][2] Born in Malad, Idaho,[3] Evans was an infantryman in the U.S. Army during World War II.

[5] He was elected to the state senate at age 27 in 1952 and re-elected in 1954 and 1956, serving as majority leader in his final term.

Evans finished Andrus' term and was elected governor in his own right in 1978, defeating Republican house speaker Allan Larsen of Blackfoot.

[7][8] After nearly a decade as a governor, Evans unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate in 1986,[9] but was defeated by Republican incumbent Steve Symms of Caldwell.

While he was in office as governor in 1981, Evans's 29-year-old son John was the target of a foiled kidnapping attempt in Burley.