Chad Houck withdraws candidacy for Idaho secretary of state. Here’s what he said
Chad Houck, who had been a member of the competitive Republican race to lead the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office, is withdrawing his candidacy, according to a news release.
Houck, the current chief deputy in the office — the top position below Secretary of State Lawerence Denney — was considered to be fairly well-positioned in the race. Denney’s wife, Donna Denney, served as Houck’s campaign treasurer, according to previous Idaho Statesman reporting.
In the release, Houck said he was withdrawing primarily for family reasons.
“I have two children at key times in their lives, finishing high school and headed to college in the next 18 months,” he said in the release. “I’m not willing to miss what time I have left by being on the campaign trail.”
Houck, who recently received a master’s degree in Homeland Security Studies from the Naval Postgraduate School, said he still will pursue cybersecurity work outside of government.
“Under the leadership of Secretary Denney, we secured the funding from state and federal sources to dramatically improve our cybersecurity posture ... but there are still things that need to be done, tools to be developed, that I can’t do from inside the Statehouse,” he said.
Other Republicans still vying for the position include Ada County Clerk Phil McGrane and state Sen. Mary Souza, of Coeur d’Alene. State Rep. Dorothy Moon, of Stanley, announced in November that she was running. They will compete in May’s primary.
McGrane and Moon have both received tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions, according to campaign finance data from the secretary of state’s website. Souza has raised nearly $20,000 in large contributions, according to the website. The Secretary of State’s Office requires prompt reporting of contributions that equal or exceed $1,000. Smaller contributions must also be reported, but will not be visible to the public until January.
According to data on the website, Houck’s campaign has not received any large contributions other than a $5,000 loan Houck filed on his own behalf. In a phone interview with the Statesman, he said he had received commitments from donors but had asked them not to give money to his campaign until he made up his mind.
“I didn’t want to take any dollars from someone until I was absolutely certain that I was going to continue,” he said. “So the only money in my campaign was my own at this point, by intent.”
Houck announced his candidacy in May.
The secretary of state’s responsibilities include overseeing state elections, registering businesses, producing government services such as statistical information about the state, and maintaining Idaho’s will registry.
Denney, a Republican and former speaker of the Idaho House, has served as secretary of state since 2015 after being elected in 2014, and has indicated that he will not seek another term, according to the Idaho Press. On Friday, Houck said Denney has “not made that announcement” on whether he will run.
Denney could not be reached for comment Friday.
The 2022 primary election is scheduled for May 17.
