Former longtime Idaho Gov. Cecil Andrus, as enthusiastic as he was about Democratic gubernatorial candidate A.J. Balukoff’s run at his announcement today, cautioned that he isn’t endorsing until after the primary. “We might have another Democrat come out – who knows?” he said. “I did that once before and got burned, as you know.” Andrus was a prominent backer of longtime friend Wally Hedrick when he announced his Democratic candidacy for state superintendent of schools in 1998, but Hedrick ended up losing the primary to Marilyn Howard – who went on to serve two terms in the statewide post.

Andrus was looking pleased today, despite the chilly weather. “We’ve got a Senate race that’s going to be interesting, too,” he said. “There are some discussions going on.” The senator whose term is up next year in 2014?  GOP Sen. Jim Risch.  Said Andrus, “The top of our ticket will look a lot better than it has for some period of time.”