Now that Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden has handily defeated GOP primary challenger C.T. “Chris” Troupis, the Democratic candidate for Attorney General, Boise attorney Bruce Bistline, says he no longer plans to actively campaign for the post. “I filed on the last day,” Bistline told Eye on Boise today. “I detest the fact that that kind of a decision, between Troupis and Wasden, could be made during the Republican primary with no alternative for the voters who are not part of the closed Republican primary. And while I would probably never have bothered to run against Wasden, because my differences with him are fairly nominal, my differences with Troupis are legion. I saw no alternative but to file to provide a choice in the general election, in the event that Troupis won the primary.”

Bistline said he doesn’t plan to withdraw, but won’t actively campaign unless something dramatic happens. “If something happened ad Wasden was unable to run and they appointed Troupis to run in his place, I’d be right back in it again,” he said. “So I can’t rule out the possibility that circumstances would draw me back in, but the circumstances which drew me in in the first instance are resolved now.”

Troupis, for his part, today endorsed Wasden. At a Republican unity rally on the steps of the state Capitol, Troupis said, “I want to see him be the next attorney general. We need to have a Republican attorney general in the state of Idaho if we are to preserve our independence and sovereignty.”