Idaho Republicans say they want to move beyond trappings of the sex scandal involving Sen. Larry Craig, Idaho Republican, as they gear up to battle for the disgraced senator's open seat.

Mr. Craig did not file for re-election before his state's deadline on Friday, ensuring that his seat would be up for grabs in November. So far the race has drawn eight GOP candidates, two Democrats, two independent candidates and a Libertarian, according to the Idaho Secretary of State.

"We have a big race, well divided," said Sid Smith, a spokesman for the Idaho Republican Party. "It's not unusual, I guess, when you have an open seat that a lot of folks are going to come out and give it a shot."

Mr. Smith downplayed any effect the embarrassing episode involving Mr. Craig's guilty plea to a charge stemming from a men's room sex sting. Several days after his plea was revealed in the press, Mr. Craig vowed to resign only to renege on that plan days later.

"We're not really worried about it, to be honest," Mr. Smith said. "These candidates can all stand on their own merits and they're their own individual and they plan to talk about what they want to do and what they've done in their professional and political careers. I don't see it playing a big role."

Mr. Smith said he hopes candidates of all stripes will avoid touching on the scandal.

"I'm hopeful that the candidates on both sides will be sticking to the issues that are relevant to the race and the issues that Idahoans want," said Mr. Smith, who worked as a spokesman for Mr. Craig until last month.

Democrat Larry LoRocco is winning the money race thus far, though he faces an uphill battle against Republican Lt. Gov. James Risch in a state that voted for President Bush over John Kerry in 2004 by a margin of 68 to 30 percent.

State and national Democrats did not return requests for comment.

— Carrie Sheffield, Web editor, The Washington Times