John Bujak, the Libertarian candidate for governor, told the Spokesman-Review’s editorial board today that if he’s elected and then runs for a second term, “I will likely run for a second term as a Republican, and I think it will heal the Republican Party.” Bujak said, “My whole life I’ve been a Republican. And I think if you were to ask me where are you on the scale, I’m a Liberty Caucus Republican, I’m a libertarian Republican. I’m running as a Libertarian this time, and I do believe in the platform of the Libertarian Party. I don’t go so far down the road that I think we need to demolish all regulation. I think there are limits that need to be imposed.”

Bujak was elected Canyon County prosecutor as a Republican, before he resigned amid legal issues and charges that led to multiple acquittals. He’s been campaigning against the “good old boy system” that he says he found infected Idaho Republican Party politics. “I understand that Republicans tend to come out and check the ‘R,’” Bujak said. “I’m going to ask them to vote on their principles, because without those principles, there can be no Republican Party in Idaho.”