Labrador miffed by long campaign
It's a fair question.
At least Raul Labrador thinks so, and he's right in the middle of things.
“Why would you possibly begin a campaign for governor a year and a half, or almost two years, before the election?” Labrador asked.
“I'm only involved because there are two other candidates here, and that puts me in a position where I have to show up.
“But this is it for several months, at least. No more forums, no debates. We have jobs to do and responsibilities to take care of, and we're a long way from November of 2018.”
In case you don't know the background to Labrador's unhappiness, he is currently busy carrying the banner of Idaho's First District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Labrador, in fact, was one of the key players from the House Freedom Caucus, a group of conservative congressmen who extracted enough changes to a health care bill to push a repeal of Obamacare through the House.
THIS EARLY start to formal campaigning began a week ago when the Idaho Republicans sponsored a forum in Coeur d'Alene featuring Labrador, Lt. Gov. Brad Little and Boise entrepreneur Tommy Ahlquist.
All things being equal, Labrador should be the favorite to succeed Butch Otter as governor.
The congressman served four years in the Idaho Legislature, he knows the state and the people who run it, and he's carefully maintained his ties back home even as he's gained clout in Washington.
But things are not exactly equal.
Little is perched comfortably in the lieutenant governor's role, and the hottest rumor at the GOP weekend meeting suggested Otter will step down before the end of his term — allowing Little to be a sitting governor at the time of the election.
If that isn't enough to put Labrador's nose out of joint, there is the unexpected run from Ahlquist, who made his candidacy public right after the New Year — almost two years ahead of the election.
Ahlquist has never run for public office, but he continually preaches “action” as his motto, and his career backs it up.
After 15 years as a physician in which he estimates he treated 40,000 patients, Ahlquist got into the development game.
Big time.
AHLQUIST has completed a unique double play, developing the largest building in Idaho and then buying the second-largest.
Labrador's campaign team grouses that Ahlquist has a whopping $5 million to spend over the next 16 months, and that he's already running TV ads.
Asked directly how much cash he'd throw into the pot, Ahlquist just laughed.
“One dollar more than it takes to win,” he said.
Labrador is definitely taking the newcomer seriously. The only barbs delivered at the intentionally civilized forum came from the congressman, and Ahlquist was the target.
“I'd like to welcome Tommy to the Republican Party,” Labrador said at one point, a snarky reference to Ahlquist's ties to Boise's Democratic mayor, Dave Beiter — and the fact that Ahlquist donated $5,000 to the campaign of Democrat A.J. Balukoff in 2010, describing the Balukoffs as “wonderful people.”
Ahlquist seemed to shrug off Labrador's remarks during a surprisingly sharp performance at the forum — his first appearance alongside the other major candidates.
He described himself as a “true conservative businessman,” and noted that in a decade as a developer, he'd invested more than $300 million in Idaho businesses and brought thousands of jobs to the state.
Labrador remains the big dog in this race for governor, but with Little in a sweet position and Ahlquist ready to spend a small fortune, it's going to be a bona-fide battle.
Oh, and...
Ahlquist has made sure the dogs have a long, long way to run.
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Steve Cameron is a special assignment reporter for The Press. Reach Steve: scameron@cdapress.com.