Controversial pathologist takes first step toward running for Idaho governor

Dr. Ryan Cole has taken the first step toward running for governor in Idaho.

Cole filed paperwork Friday to appoint a treasurer for a campaign for governor. He appointed himself as treasurer, but hasn’t yet filed official candidacy paperwork to run for governor, according to the most recent update from the Idaho Secretary of State.

He also did not list a political party on his treasurer appointment document.

Cole is a pathologist who serves on the board of Central District Health, the state’s largest regional public health department. He gained local and national attention in 2021 after giving a presentation in the Idaho statehouse that downplayed public health measures to control COVID-19.

He since has become a fixture on the national speaking circuit alongside health care providers such as Drs. Robert Malone, Pierre Kory, Peter McCullough and Richard Urso. Together, they spread inaccurate, incomplete and misleading information about COVID-19 vaccines, the virus and treatments against coronavirus.

For example, Cole has claimed since last year that Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are causing a wave of cancers and new infections, without providing any evidence to support those assertions.

Cole has traveled the U.S. in recent months, giving speeches in Washington, D.C., other metro areas and recently at a church in Garden City. At some of those events, his fellow presenters have suggested Cole run for governor of Idaho.

Cole is currently under investigation by the Washington Medical Commission and has been the subject of complaints to the Idaho Board of Medicine, including allegations that he treated patients without being qualified to do so, as a laboratory doctor. He also was removed from one of Idaho’s largest health networks last year, following his claims regarding COVID-19.

The treasurer appointment was first reported by Ruth Brown of Idaho Reports.