Otter nixes ‘placeholder’
BOISE – Gov. Butch Otter on Friday decided against naming a “placeholder” to replace U.S. Sen. Larry Craig and said he’ll instead choose a candidate who will seek a full term in the Senate in the next election.
He also added a name to his short list of candidates to replace Craig – state Sen. John McGee, R-Caldwell, the state Senate’s youngest member.
Otter rejected the placeholder idea out of concern for Idaho’s clout in the Senate, said his press secretary, Jon Hanian. “He gave it a hard look, but I think in the end he decided it wasn’t the most prudent way to go.”
Otter’s decision came after urging from 2nd District Rep. Mike Simpson and Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, to avoid a temporary officeholder. Both cited a need to build up seniority for Idaho’s next senator in order to secure key committee assignments. Craig’s departure – assuming he resigns Sept. 30 as he’s said he’ll most likely do – means Idaho loses a seat on the Senate Appropriations Committee and other sought-after posts that he had secured because of his seniority.
McGee, 34, is a second-term state senator and chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee. Otter offered no reason for adding McGee to a list that the governor’s office said now also includes Lt. Gov. Jim Risch, Attorney General Lawrence Wasden, former state Sen. Dane Watkins and former Lt. Gov. David Leroy.
Otter’s decision not to go with a placeholder, however, would seem to eliminate Leroy, who said Thursday he’d consider an interim appointment but plans to support Risch for Senate in the 2008 election.
McGee said Otter asked him Thursday night at a Special Olympics fundraiser in Boise if he’d be interested in the appointment. “I’m flattered that the governor has so much confidence in me,” McGee said Friday. But he noted that for now, “I’m really focused on continuing to serve Caldwell, Greenleaf and Wilder in the state Senate.”
Hanian said the governor has no timetable in mind for making his decision. “Given the events of the last 12 days, we’re taking it day by day,” he said.
Craig hinted earlier in the week that he might not resign if he can clear up both his ethics complaint and his Minnesota criminal case by Sept. 30, but his staff said that’s only a slim possibility. He has, however, ruled out running for re-election.