Posted on 05/09/2017 1:52:03 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Idaho Republican Rep. Raul Labrador, who made headlines over the weekend for his comment at a town hall that "nobody" dies from a lack of health care, is running for Idaho governor.
The fourth-term congressman filed paperwork Tuesday morning with Idaho's Secretary of State. Labrador, a conservative Republican and founding member of the House Freedom Caucus, faced immediate backlash over the weekend after claiming "nobody dies because they don't have access to health care" at a town hall in Idaho. Later, the Republican issued a statement to reporters acknowledging his answer "wasn't very elegant," but he was "responding to the false notion that the Republican health care plan will cause people to die in the streets, which I completely reject."
Labrador has become known among the House Freedom Caucus as a member particularly unafraid to speak his mind. In March, was among the first to respond a tweet from President Donald Trump that the president would oppose House Freedom Caucus members in 2018 who had opposed his original health care plan.
"Running for Governor of the great state of Idaho takes serious preparation," Labrador said in a statement provided to reporters. "To comply with both the spirit and the letter of the law, I have filed the appropriate campaign finance form required to register as a candidate for Governor. I'll be making a formal announcement in the coming weeks."
"Idaho needs a proven conservative leader who will stand against the special interests and politicians that have picked the winners and losers in our state Capitol for too long," Labrador continued. "Idaho needs a strong leader who will make government fair for everyone. Idaho needs a governor who will provide a new vision, a new approach and new leadership."
Idaho lawmaker faces backlash for saying "nobody dies" from lack of health care access Play VIDEO Idaho lawmaker faces backlash for saying "nobody dies" from lack of health care access The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee member has strongly opposed Obamacare, higher government spending and federal takeover of land during his time in Congress. Labrador was first elected to the House of Representatives during the GOP midterm wave of 2010. Born in Puerto Rico, he received his law degree from the University of Washington School of Law.
Labrador will have plenty of Republican competition. Idaho's Republican Lt. Gov. Brad Little, former Republican state Sen. Russ Fulcher and Boise businessman Tommy Ahlquist have all all announced their intention to run and succeed current GOP Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter.
Labrador isn't the only Republican announcing he will not run again in 2018. House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Rep. Jason Chaffetz announced last month that he also will not run for another term in 2018.
Don’t understand what the big fuss was. The seat will stay red. Hopefully we can nominate a young looker(female).
I read the headline and thought.... There’s a dog in this fight.
LOL. That’s exactly what I was thinking from the headline.
(pic of 2 labs).
That is EXACTLY what I thought!
Loyal, intelligent, easily trained and good in cold climates. Sounds like the qualities one would want in an Idahoan governor.
Absolutely.
Me too, especially just after reading the thread on “Marlon Bundo, the Pence family rabbit, launches Instagram account”.
This would be a good thing for the future of Idaho, what with encroachment of liberalism in Boise and Washington State.
At least it wasn't a flippant comment about meth labs.
EXCELLENT NEWS!!! Our current governor is a RINO of the lowest order. Labrador is quite the opposite. He’s got my vote and financial support.
Former State AG and LT. Governor David Leroy, who left office after having been the unsuccessful nominee for Governor in ‘86, is the first Republican to jump in the race.
He lost a primary for the seat in 1994 to Helen Chenoweth, that was the last time he ran for anything. He’s 69 years old.
State dems are pinning their hopes on, no joke, the GOP nominating a candidate that fails to inspire “loyal right-wing voters” to go to the polls. So they hope for RINO milqtoast.
Leroy was a real rising star in Idaho back in the ‘70s and ‘80s, he handily won the Attorney General office in 1978 when he was only 31 and then switched to Lt Governor in 1982 (presuming that would be an easier route to Governor). He lost by only 1% to Cecil Andrus in the open 1986 Guv race (had he won, he’d likely have gone on to be Senator in 1990 instead of Larry Craig or in 1992 instead of Dirk Kempthorne).
Nothing wrong with comebacks, but he’ll be 71 at the start of the 2019 Congress (turns 72 in Aug 2019) and I presume he’d want to serve just three terms. What are his goals in office ? Is he an anti-Trumper ? I looked up past Almanacs of American Politics to see any mention of his stances, but didn’t see anything listed in particular. Barone did note that when he ran for his first attempt at a comeback in 1994 for the House that he was the presumed frontrunner, but Helen Chenoweth managed to outwork him (interestingly, Chenoweth had been Leroy’s campaign manager for Governor in 1986).
She was his campaign manager? Wow that’s cold. I plum forgot she died BTW.
Found this, his campaign statement.
Well, it had been 8 years before and she’d been toiling behind the scenes for some time and felt it was her time. I don’t know if she ran a nasty primary campaign, she was really focused like a laser on Larry LaRocco, the Dem incumbent.
LaRocco should’ve been defeated in 1992 after a single term when it was exposed he was paying off a mistress who had worked for him. The Republican lady who ran against him that year confronted him to his face about it and he lied his ass off, calling her a sleaze-peddler, and the voters believed him. Presumably, either Leroy or Chenoweth would’ve polished him off in ‘94, though Chenoweth was one of the brightest stars of that class (judging by the epic-level media hate she endured).
It’s too bad she didn’t stay in Idaho and ran for the Senate instead of Crap-o in 1998. Had she done so, she might not have ended up in that car accident in Nevada.
Leroy’s announcement is just boilerplate stuff, sounding more mild and measured. I was surprised at his picture in the paper, comparing him to when he was in office in his 30s in his OurCampaigns photo. He’s 69, but I think he looks closer to 80 now, and that likely won’t help him if there’s a younger, hard-charging opponent from the right. Idaho needs another Helen Chenoweth.
One year in Idaho there was a Batt, a Fox and a Crow all running, and an EagleHawk. 1994 IIRC
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