Candidates make races official starting today

Idaho’s official two-week candidate filing period for the 2018 elections is here.

Contenders for a variety of federal, state, county, legislative and judicial positions can begin filing their declarations of candidacy today; the filing period closes at 5 p.m. March 9.

Offices that will be on the ballot this year, reports the Lewiston Tribune, include:

Federal: The two-year 1st Congressional District seat in the House of Representatives will be an open seat, as incumbent Rep. Razl Labrador is running for governor.

State: All state constitutional offices will be on the ballot, and each has a four-year term. The governor, lieutenant governor and treasurer offices will all be open; Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter isn’t running for re-election, Treasurer Ron Crane is retiring and Lt. Gov. Brad Little is running for governor. Other constitutional offices include state controller, secretary of state, attorney general and superintendent of public instruction.

Legislative: All 105 seats in the Idaho House and Senate are up for election; the seats have a two-year term. At least four senators and eight representatives have indicated they’re retiring or planning to run for higher office.

In north central Idaho, Paulette Jordan recently resigned her 5th Legislative District seat representing Latah and Benewah counties so she could focus on her gubernatorial campaign; a replacement, Margie Gannon of St. Maries, has been appointed, but the appointment only runs until November, the Tribune reported.

Judicial: Various Idaho Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and District Court judgeships are up for election. These are non-partisan positions; the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal seats have six-year terms, while the District Court seats have a four-year term.

County: County commissioner district 1 and district 3 seats in all counties will be on the ballot, along with the clerk of district court, county treasurer, assessor and coroner. All of the positions have four-year terms, except the commissioner district 1 seat, which this year has a two-year term.

In addition to the declaration of candidacy, candidates must also pay a filing fee or file a nominating petition with the proper number of signatures from registered voters. Independent candidates don’t have the option of paying a filing fee and must file a nominating petition.

For county offices, the declaration must be filed with the local county clerk; for all other offices, the declaration is filed with the secretary of state.

The primary election is May 15; the general election is Nov. 6.