Another coming and going in the crowded GOP race to succeed retiring Secretary of State Ben Ysursa.
Deputy Ada County clerk Phil McGrane filed paperwork on Monday naming a campaign treasurer. This is a precursor to raising money for a run for office.
McGrane’s filing wasn’t a surprise; he has said he might run for the job if Ysursa decided not to seek a fourth term.
McGrane joins state Rep. Lawerence Denney of Midvale and former state Sen. Mitch Toryanski of Boise, who have also appointed campaign treasurers in advance of a potential run for secretary of state. Denney has formally announced his campaign.
Two of Denney’s legislative colleagues have said they are considering the race: Sen. Marv Hagedorn of Meridian, and Rep. Luke Malek of Coeur d’Alene.
No Democrats have announced for secretary of state.
The secretary of state’s most high-profile function is serving as Idaho’s chief elections officer. But one of the office’s policymaking roles is on the state’s Land Board, the five-member panel that manages endowment lands for K-12 and other beneficiaries.
In other filings news, former NFL player and congressional candidate Jimmy Farris has resurfaced, as a potential candidate for the Legislature.
The Democrat named a campaign treasurer on Nov. 18 for a run for House Seat A in the Boise area’s legislative District 16. That seat is currently held by Democratic Rep. Grant Burgoyne.
However, Burgoyne is running next year for the District 16 Senate seat; current Sen. Les Bock, an applicant for a district judge’s job, does not plan to seek re-election. (More on Bock and Burgoyne from the Idaho Statesman’s Dan Popkey.)
Farris ran for the 1st Congressional District seat in 2012, getting 30.8 percent of the vote in a race against GOP incumbent Raul Labrador.
