While many 2006 candidates have left their campaign websites to languish in the months since the election, Idaho congressional candidate Larry Grant simply posted a picture of a “Welcome to Idaho” road sign with the words “Is It 2008 Yet?” beneath it.

Few 2006 candidates are girding for another battle as much as Grant is right now. The Democrat is closely monitoring freshman Rep. Bill Sali’s (R) every vote in the House and is also considering a bid for Sen. Larry Craig’s (R) seat.

Grant is coming off a 50-45 percent loss to Sali for an open seat in a staunchly conservative western Idaho district.

As elsewhere in the country, Idaho Democrats made strides in 2006, and Grant’s performance in a district that gave President Bush 69 percent in 2004 was particularly heartening for them.

But the loss has not sat well with Grant, who was vacationing in Florida last week because, he said, he was obsessing too much about the last election.

While a number of factors will play into his decision, it mostly boils down to weighing his odds. Put simply: If he thinks he can win, he’s likely to run. And winning in a presidential election year will not be easy.

“We’re from a very red state, so a guy would like to have a chance of winning,” Grant said. “That depends on a lot of things, like how well the Democrats do in Congress. [House Speaker] Nancy [Pelosi] (D-Calif.) and crew seem to be doing pretty well right now.

“It’ll also depend, more importantly, on Mr. Sali and his record.”

Indeed, despite his vacationing, Grant has detailed knowledge of Sali’s votes thus far, noting that Sali has “voted against everything except ethics reform and the resolution honoring the Boise State Broncos” football team, which won college football’s Fiesta Bowl.

Also, last week, he criticized Sali in the local press for not co-sponsoring a bill that would provide millions to the Idaho timber industry.

Grant is still wrapping up business from the last election, but he said he’d start talking to people by spring or summer and “hit the road” by September if he’s going to run. He raised a relatively small $650,000 and got little outside help in 2006.

He’s also been approached by the state Democratic Party about a Senate bid, and he said he will consider it. Former Rep. Larry LaRocco (D) is also weighing a run, and Grant said he will defer to LaRocco — a bigger name with statewide experience.

But the Senate seat is much less attractive with Craig sitting in it, and while retirement rumors have circulated about members of the newly demoted Republican Caucus, Craig, at 61, is right in the middle of the Senate as far as his age.

Craig, who was reelected with 65 percent in 2002, has not yet announced whether he intends to seek reelection. He already has a primary opponent in Robert Vasquez, a county commissioner who declared for the seat in October, citing Craig’s support for allowing illegal immigrants to apply for citizenship.

State Democratic Party Chairman Richard Stallings said he thought the Senate seat could provide an opportunity for Grant, but that Grant is probably leaning toward running for the House seat again.

Stallings said the House race showed the national party that, for a little bit of an investment, Democrats could have a chance in Idaho, which is one of the most Republican states in the nation.

He said that is especially the case against Sali, but both he and Grant are somewhat doubtful that they would even face Sali in 2008.

With a half-million dollars from the conservative Club for Growth, Sali took a 26 percent plurality in a crowded Republican primary that could be rehashed in 2008. He has also clashed with his party’s leadership in the state legislature.

“His politics don’t really fit that district very well,” Stallings said. “I think he’s going to be primaried, and depending on the nature of the primary, he could be in trouble. But we will plan, at this point, to run against him in November.”

Sali Chief of Staff Rob Schwarzwalder said the congressman will be a highly effective member and is confident the party will unite behind him.

He said Grant is too focused on the next election already.

“The last election just ended, and here he is obsessed with his race,” Schwarzwalder. “I think that’s an indication of his desperation for a seat in Congress and his willingness to disparage anyone who stands in his way.”