Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, was first elected to the House from Idaho's 1st District in the 2010 Republican wave election. | AP Photo Labrador to run for Idaho governor

Rep. Raúl Labrador, a conservative Republican who has frequently tangled with GOP leadership, will run for governor of Idaho in 2018.

A founding member of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus, Labrador filed to run for governor on Tuesday. He was first elected to represent Idaho's 1st District in the 2010 wave that gave Republicans a House majority.


“Idaho needs a proven conservative leader who will stand against the special interests and politicians that have picked the winners and losers in our state Capitol for too long,” he said in a statement announcing his candidacy.

Labrador is expected to be one of several Republicans vying to replace Gov. Butch Otter, who has long said he wouldn’t seek reelection in 2018. Labrador leaves behind a safe Republican seat — both he and President Donald Trump won roughly two-thirds of the vote in the district last year.

Labrador has frequently been a leader in the far-right’s fights with House Speaker Paul Ryan. Most recently, Labrador joined with other Freedom Caucus members to sink the GOP’s first Obamacare repeal effort in March. He eventually signed on to the revised bill, which passed the House last week, but not before being verbally flogged by Trump.

“If @RepMarkMeadows, @Jim_Jordan and @Raul_Labrador would get on board we would have both great healthcare and massive tax cuts & reform,” Trump tweeted after House Republicans’ first attempt to dismantle Obamacare imploded.

Labrador refused to vote for then-Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) in 2013 as part of a conservative rebellion, sitting in the chamber during the speaker’s election and ignoring his name being called when it was time to cast a vote.

In 2014, he launched a long-shot bid for House majority leader after Rep. Eric Cantor’s (R-Va.) shocking primary defeat, positioning himself as the conservative candidate in the race before losing to Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

He’s also sparred with rank-and-file members of the caucus, most notably fellow Idaho GOP Rep. Mike Simpson, the only other House member in the state’s congressional delegation. The two have been in an on-and-off feud since Labrador’s 2013 rebellion against Boehner, with Labrador calling Simpson, a loyal Boehner ally, “a bully.” The two went more than a year without speaking.

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Labrador’s gubernatorial announcement comes a few days after he made headlines by saying, “Nobody dies because they don’t have access to health care" a town hall meeting while trying to defend the GOP's Obamacare repeal plan. He issued a statement Saturday attempting to clear up the remark, saying it “wasn’t very elegant.”

Labrador’s departure from Congress isn’t a total shock. Insiders have speculated for months he would run for the governor’s mansion next year and Labrador did little to tamp down the rumors.

The Puerto Rico native flirted with challenging Otter in 2013 before deciding to stay in the House. His name was also floated as a potential pick for Interior secretary, going so far as to interview with Trump in New York in December.

An immigration lawyer by trade, Labrador was part of the 2013 “Gang of Eight” in the House, a bipartisan group of lawmakers attempting to hammer out an immigration reform bill. He eventually left the group after a disagreement over health care for immigrants, and the talks fell apart.

Lt. Gov. Brad Little, who is also running to be the GOP’s 2018 gubernatorial nominee, signaled he was eager to take on Labrador. “Idaho is not Washington D.C., and I would like to welcome Congressman Labrador back home to the place where we balance our budget and conservative ideals guide us each day,” he said Tuesday. “Idahoans, including myself, look forward to hearing from Congressman Labrador about the accomplishments he has made while being in Congress for over 6 years.”