It will be over before we know it. In what seems like an endless campaign, the Republican Primary for Governor will be over on May 17th. Last week, Ammon Bundy decided to stay in the race by getting out.

Ed Humphreys on the Trail

Ed Humphreys tours the state campaigning to be Idaho's next Republican Governor.

Mr. Bundy declared that he will now run as an independent. His announcement means that the Republican nominee could face a protest vote for Mr. Bundy, costing the GOP candidate a possible victory.

Let's take this time to examine the strategy for the three major Republican candidates in the race. We begin with Governor Little, who has yet to declare his intention to seek reelection. Last week, the Governor started airing a television ad that touted his credentials as an Idaho Conservative.

Governor Little

The Governor, once he announces, will have a long record of success to appeal to Idaho voters. Unlike other states, he didn't issue a mask mandate; he successfully navigated the pandemic relief; Idaho is the second most least regulated state in the nation, property values are soaring, Idaho is one of the top states in economic recovery from the pandemic. There are many more accomplishments that I could list that the Governor will remind voters of before the primary.

He will use his massive campaign war chest to blanket the state with ads on radio and every other medium. As we saw four years ago, the Governor's message will be aided by special interest groups that will buy ads supporting his campaign. These ads are force multipliers that magnify the candidate's message beyond his media buys.  I wouldn't want to leave out that the governor will be aided by Idaho's political establishment.

If the race gets close, we could expect to see negative ads like four years ago that were very effective against Raul Labrador and Tommy Ahlquist. The Governor will hit the ground running as he did four years ago, leaving nothing to chance.

Lieutenant Governor Janice McGeachin

Lieutenant Governor Janice McGeachin has a significant amount of money in her campaign war chest. She has President Trump's major endorsement and a group of allies that will campaign for her throughout the state. Her strategy is to appeal to the voters left out of the Governor's message of economic prosperity. The state continues to ignore the rising cost of owning a home. Growth appears to be unregulated, and there are several issues that she can take advantage of on the trail.

Her ability to win depends on a few factors; how many people remain angry over the Governor's leadership during Covid, her campaign's ability to maximize the Trump endorsement, how popular the former president still is in Idaho, and whether or not he will come here for a rally?

Will we hear/see ads with President Trump endorsing the lieutenant governor on the radio/television? She will be aided by conservative groups across the state who will help augment her message.

Ed Humphreys

Ed Humphreys was the first declared Republican candidate for Governor last year. The candidate has raised awareness concerning Critical Race Theory being taught in Idaho Schools and Idaho's state government to Communist China. His dedication to the race is unquestioned.

His campaign will continue to rely on the grassroots conservatives, his social media and digital outreach, and radio/television ads. With the removal of Mr. Bundy from the Republican field, Mr. Humphreys now has a shot of being the alternative to Little and McGeachin. I expect his campaign to reinforce his image as an outsider instead of a career politician. I'd expect him to continue to push to break stories on how the state's institutions are going woke.

One final thought, it is with great disappointment that Idaho Liberals are so dysfunctional that they are changing their party affiliation to vote in the Republican Primary. At the very least, the state should regulate that your party affiliation cannot change between the primary and the general election. These liberal tricksters should focus on their liberal party. By the way, does anyone know if a serious, legitimate Democrat is running for Governor this year?

A final note, don't forget you can see and meet these candidates at your county's Lincoln Day Dinners.

 

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