Idaho candidates boast big bucks in governor’s race

Boise businessman Tommy Ahlquist outraised his Republican gubernatorial candidates last year by reporting more than $1.7 million in fundraising, but opponent Lt. Gov. Brad Little closed out 2017 with a bigger bank balance of nearly $638,000.

End-of-year financial disclosure reports were filed Wednesday with the secretary of state’s office. The reports offer a snapshot into how the state’s most competitive political races are shaking out nearly four months before the May primary election.

Out of the top three GOP gubernatorial candidates, only U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador’s report hadn’t yet posted as of Wednesday evening. However, Labrador’s campaign manager China Gum says the congressman collected a total of $670,000 last year and still had $375,000 on hand.

Meanwhile, Democratic gubernatorial candidate A.J. Balukoff’s report shows he gave $175,000 of his own money to his campaign and raised roughly $6,200 in contributions from supporters.

The disclosure report for Democratic state Rep. Paulette Jordan, Balukoff’s opponent, was not immediately available.