Ammon Bundy drops out as Republican for Idaho governor — but still plans to run
Gubernatorial candidate Ammon Bundy, who just recently registered as a Republican, will no longer run in the upcoming GOP primary election, he announced Thursday.
Instead, Bundy will run as an independent in the November general election. The Idaho GOP is “corrupt and wicked,” Bundy said in a news release, before airing a lengthy list of crimes committed by and accusations against prominent Idaho Republicans.
“The Republican Party platform is the platform I stand behind, but the Republican establishment in Idaho is full of filth and corruption and they refuse to put forth the party platform,” he said in the release.
Bundy registered to vote as a Republican in September, according to voting records. He faces a second jury trial in connection with his arrest last year for trespassing at the Idaho Capitol.
Bundy was convicted of two misdemeanors and banned from the Idaho Capitol for one year after he refused to leave the Statehouse’s Lincoln Auditorium during a special legislative session in August 2020. He was arrested twice in April for entering the Idaho Capitol.
Bundy’s departure from the GOP primary leaves incumbent Gov. Brad Little and Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin as likely frontrunners. Little has yet to announce his campaign, but he’s actively campaigning and has raised $1.4 million in campaign donations, nearly tripling fundraising by McGeachin.
The lieutenant governor has raised roughly $500,000, with about 40% coming from her own pocket. Bundy has raised about $300,000.
Half a dozen others are expected to run in the GOP primary, including Steve Bradshaw, a Bonner County commissioner, and investment manager Ed Humphreys.
The deadline to declare a candidacy for the May 17 primary election is March 11.
Bundy also on Thursday denied multiple media reports that he was endorsing McGeachin in the primary, and that she would endorse him in the general election if her primary bid is unsuccessful. Bundy said it’s an “intriguing idea,” but he has not made a deal with McGeachin.
In response to Bundy’s announcement, McGeachin declared Thursday that she’s the only “viable conservative candidate in this race.” She remains “entirely focused on defeating” Little, McGeachin said in a news release.
“I strongly support the Idaho Republican platform, which so many politicians routinely ignore, and I look forward to conservatives from across the state uniting behind our campaign to Make Idaho Free Again,” she said.
Former Idaho House Speaker Bruce Newcomb said Thursday the primary campaign “exposed Ammon Bundy as a failure.”
“He became Republican when it was politically advantageous, he ran out of money, and now he’s quitting because he’s trailing Janice McGeachin,” Newcomb said in a news release from Take Back Idaho, a conservative, anti-extremism advocacy group.
Bundy has spent the majority of his contributions on campaign expenditures. At the end of January, his campaign’s cash balance was $11,800 along with $70,000 in outstanding debt, according to a campaign finance report. But Bundy continues to raise money — about $35,000 in January.
This story was originally published February 17, 2022 at 8:59 AM with the headline "Ammon Bundy drops out as Republican for Idaho governor — but still plans to run."
