Gov. Brad Little has yet to make official campaign announcement

Gov. Brad Little has not yet officially announced his 2022 re-election plans, he confirmed Wednesday.

Little, a Republican from Emmett serving his first four-year term as governor, appointed a campaign treasurer in February 2020. Appointing a treasurer is an initial step to launching a campaign because it allows a potential candidate to raise campaign funds.

However, Little has not made a formal campaign announcement or declaration. 

On Wednesday, Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin, a Republican critic of Little’s, officially announced her candidacy for governor during a three-city tour of Idaho.

As McGeachin’s campaign announcement was taking place on the steps outside the Statehouse, Little told the Idaho Capital Sun in an interview inside his office that he has not announced his election plans. 

“No, no,” Little replied when asked if he had made a final decision yet. 

“I am basically trying to get past the session, get everything implemented. I’m talking to the State Board (of Education), talking to the school districts,” he added.

Little, a 67-year-old rancher, was appointed to the Idaho Senate in 2001. He won four consecutive state senate races and served until he was appointed lieutenant governor in 2009. Little won the lieutenant governor’s race in 2010 and was re-elected to that position in 2014. 

In 2018 Little finished first in the seven-candidate Republican gubernatorial primary with 37% of the vote and then went on to win the general election in November 2018, becoming the 33rd governor of Idaho. 

Even though Little has yet to announce publicly, he suggested his decision will not come as a surprise. 

“Don’t be shocked,” Little joked with the Idaho Capital Sun as he wrapped up the short interview Wednesday. 

The Republican primary will take place in May 2022, with the general election scheduled for November 2022.