Walker won't stop — she'll run

She's in.

Ending months of speculation, Gov. Olene Walker announced Saturday she'll seek her own full term as governor this year, surprising some citizens and politicos who believed she would opt to become a stay-at-home grandma.

"I've thoroughly enjoyed being governor the last four months. There's still much to do," Walker said from her Capitol office in a noon press conference. "I'll run for four more years" as chief executive.

Walker became Utah's first female governor last November when, as lieutenant governor, she succeeded Gov. Mike Leavitt, who resigned to become director of the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

If she wins the GOP nomination and the governorship later this year, she'll become the first woman elected to Utah's top executive post.

Walker, a Republican, joins a crowded field of seven men seeking the GOP gubernatorial nomination, with the chance that even more candidates could join before the candidate filing deadline March 17.

Democrats have settled on University of Utah law school dean Scott Matheson Jr. as their governor candidate this year. Matheson, son of the late Gov. Scott M. Matheson, has no announced opponents within his party.

"I think it's obviously going to add a great deal of interest and excitement to the race," said LaVarr Webb, a political consultant, lobbyist and columnist. "It just adds a really interesting twist to this whole thing."

Walker said her age — she is 73 — and gender probably won't play a major role in her campaign. "Most of these guys (the other GOP candidates) are younger; well, not all." Former Congressman Jim Hansen is 71.

Still, Walker would be 78 at the end of her first full term.

Utah GOP chairman Joe Cannon said he wasn't much surprised that Walker got in the race, even though the speculation for months has been that she would serve out the last year of Leavitt's three terms, satisfied that the title of Utah's first female governor was the crown jewel of her long public service.

"She was aggressive with the Legislature," which ended Wednesday, said Cannon. "She has the power of the incumbency — she announced from the governor's office, didn't she. She's a woman — that helps, I think — and she is pretty beloved in Utah. I think she will be a formidable candidate."

Some surprised

Still, some were caught off guard by her announcement.