Mansfield won’t seek congressional seat

BOISE – It may still be 21 months until the next General Election, but the political jostling already has started.

On Wednesday, social conservative Dennis Mansfield told the Associated Press that he will not run for the 1st Congressional District seat, saying he decided over the weekend to spend more time with his youngest son.

“I would lose five years of my son growing up,” Mansfield said. “That’s when I made my decision not to run.”

In 2000, Mansfield ran in the Republican primary against then-Lt. Gov. Butch Otter, who went on to win the congressional seat. Otter is not seeking re-election, and instead will run for governor.

The campaign five years ago was marked by the arrest and conviction of another of Mansfield’s sons, Nathan Dennis Mansfield, who pleaded guilty to marijuana possession charges. Later, Dennis Mansfield claimed the publicity about his son’s brush with the law caused him to lose the election.

Mansfield, who also lost a bid for state senator in 2004, said Wednesday that while he would not seek election to a congressional office, he may look at another statewide office, perhaps lieutenant governor. He says if he wins, it would give him a chance to still coach his son’s soccer team.

Mansfield was one of a dozen Republicans who had made some movement toward beginning a congressional campaign. His decision came as a surprise to Boise State University political science professor Jim Weatherby.

“I would have expected him to be very competitive. Especially in a crowded field, Dennis Mansfield would have had a good chance,” Weatherby said, explaining that conservatives tend to vote in greater numbers in primary elections.