The Lewiston Tribune reports today that former four-term Idaho Gov. Cecil Andrus, who will be in Lewiston for Saturday's Cecil D. Andrus Statesmanship Award presentation to former longtime Idaho Sen. Marguerite McLaughlin, D-Orofino, tried hard to convince McLaughlin to run for governor. "She was without question one of the hardest-working individuals in either political party," Andrus told the Tribune. "She always ignored the political labels."

Andrus said he regrets that he failed to convince McLaughlin to run for governor. "I thought she was better prepared than any other person to be governor," Andrus told the paper. "Had she run and been elected she would have been one of the top two or three governors the state has ever known. She has wisdom beyond her years. It takes a unique person to come from a little old lumber town like Orofino to raise to that level. She is a jewel."

McLaughlin served two terms in the Idaho House and nine in the Senate, retiring in 2000.