Three in, one out in Guv’s race
In addition to independent Jana Kemp and Republican Rex Rammell, Democrat Keith Allred now has filed to run for governor. Allred, who filed 1,079 signatures this morning to qualify for the ballot, promised "leadership" in his run for the state's top post. “Instead of listening to everyday Idahoans, Governor Otter is listening to special interests and a few conservative ideologues like Mike Gwartney,” Allred said in a statement. “This is costing Idaho precious dollars, and wasting opportunities to move our state forward.” You can read his full statement here. Interestingly, though party candidates have a choice of filing the signatures or paying a $300 fee, Allred did both. "We also submitted a check," said campaign spokesman Shea Andersen, "in case something came up. I believe Keith refers to that as the 'belt and suspenders' approach."
Also today, independent Jana Kemp filed more than 1,000 signatures to formally enter the race; independents don't have the option of a filing fee, and must gather the signatures. "This is the perfect time for an independent to run for governor in Idaho and the need has never been greater," Kemp declared; you can click here to read her full statement. Meanwhile, Republican Rex Rammell paid the filing fee; Rammell, for his part, is inviting voters to a series of 20 free dinners around the state to hear his campaign pitch, from Wednesday in Emmett through April 1 in Osburn; more info here.
And the one who's out: Prospective GOP candidate Ron "Pete" Petersen, an amateur stand-up comedian who announced his candidacy at a bikini bar, told Eye on Boise today that he's dropping out of the race and endorsing Kemp. "I've taken an unusual step even for me as a candidate, I've actually endorsed Jana Kemp, at least thru May 25th," Petersen said, referring to the date of Idaho's primary election. "So I'm on board 100 percent with her. She would make a much better governor than I would." Petersen, whose whole campaign pitch was a "beatbutch.com" Web site, said, "My cyber campaign is falling by the wayside."
