The Republican race for governor could become more crowded.
Boise developer and doctor Tommy Ahlquist is “seriously considering” entering the field, Don Day of BoiseDev.com reported Thursday.
“I’ve been asked for a long time to consider it by people I trust,” Ahlquist told Day. “It’s been going on for about a year and a half, people saying, ‘You’d be good at it and your skill set is unique.'”
Ahlquist’s development company has worked on two high-profile projects in downtown Boise: the 8th and Main project on a long-vacant downtown corner, and the US Bank Plaza project near the Boise Centre convention center.
Ahlquist had been a finalist for a State Board of Education appointment in 2014.
Two Republicans have already jumped into the race to succeed Gov. Butch Otter, who has publicly said he will not run for re-election in 2018. Lt. Gov. Brad Little announced his plans to run last summer. Soon after, former state Sen. Russell Fulcher announced he will take another run at governor; he challenged Otter in the 2014 GOP primary, receiving 44 percent of the vote.
Meanwhile, according to one of the worst-kept secrets in Idaho political circles, U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador is a gubernatorial candidate in waiting. In December, the National Review said Labrador is already telling congressional colleagues that he will run for governor. Labrador is “actively considering” such a move, a spokesman told Nathan Brown of the Twin Falls Times-News at that time.
