House Freedom Caucus member Raul Labrador is running for Idaho governor

Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho) is running for governor of Idaho in 2018, he confirmed Tuesday. A founding member of the House Freedom Caucus, Labrador said he will complete his term in the House while running for governor.

Labrador made headlines recently after he declared at a town hall that "nobody dies because they don't have access to health care." He later walked back that remark, which he admitted "wasn't very elegant." He was a top contender to be President Trump's secretary of interior, and he also scored a Twitter shout-out from Trump after he and his House Freedom Caucus colleagues opposed Republicans' first iteration of the American Health Care Act. Trump suggested that if it weren't for Labrador and his cohorts, Americans would have "great" health care and "massive tax cuts and reform."

There had long been speculation about whether Labrador would run. In a statement Tuesday, Labrador said he'd decided to go for it because 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."

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The Huffington Post reported that Labrador's seat in the House likely will not flip to a Democrat.