Rakesh Mohan has entered the 2026 general election race to unseat incumbent Republican Brandon Woolf for the position of Idaho state controller. The contest pits a former government evaluator against the current chief fiscal officer of the state, bringing attention to the management of state finances and recent technology transitions.
The Idaho state controller is a constitutional officer responsible for overseeing the state’s financial operations. The role carries an annual salary of $128,690 and includes membership on the Idaho State Board of Land Commissioners. The position operates on a four-year term cycle.
Mohan’s Background and Critique
Mohan brings three decades of experience in government auditing and evaluation to the race. He worked as an auditor and evaluator for 31 years across Idaho, Washington, Louisiana, and Kansas. Most recently, he served as the director of the nonpartisan Idaho Office of Performance Evaluations for 21 years before retiring in June 2024.
Following his retirement, Mohan took a position as a visiting professor at the School of Public Policy at Boise State University. He is not an accountant or information technology professional by trade, but he cites more than 30 years of experience evaluating government policy and auditing state operations.
Mohan has focused his campaign on the challenges surrounding the implementation of Luma, a cloud-based enterprise resource planning system launched in 2023. The system was designed to centralize business, budget, payroll, human resources, procurement, and financial management for more than 80 state agencies. It replaced two legacy systems from the 1980s that lacked technical support and were vulnerable to security threats.
The rollout of Luma has faced significant hurdles. State budget analysts reported delays in required financial reports and state audits last year, attributing the setbacks to the new system. Issues included data entry errors, reporting inaccuracies, late or incorrect payments, uneven training for staff, and general implementation delays.
Mohan attributes these difficulties to leadership failures within the Idaho State Controller’s Office. He alleges a lack of accountability in the current administration, pointing to a former top deputy in the controller’s office who now works with Infor, the company holding the state contract for Luma.
Woolf’s Tenure and Record
Brandon Woolf has served as state controller since 2012. He was appointed by former Gov. Butch Otter to finish the term of Donna Jones, who was injured in a car accident that year. Woolf won election for the position in 2014 and ran unopposed in 2018. He is currently finishing his third term.
Woolf’s career with the state began in 1997 when he started as an intern at the Idaho State Controller’s Office after graduating from Utah State University. During his tenure, the office launched the Transparent Idaho website in 2013 to make state financial and organizational data accessible to the public.
The controller’s office manages payroll for more than 37,000 state and university employees. Woolf is married to Janalee, and the couple recently celebrated their 32nd wedding anniversary.
Campaign Context
Mohan’s entry into the race marks a shift from his long career in nonpartisan evaluation to direct political competition. He lost his wife, Carolyn, in 2024 after 44 years of marriage. His campaign leverages his extensive background in assessing government performance to challenge Woolf’s management of the state’s fiscal infrastructure.
The general election will determine whether Idaho voters retain Woolf for another term or elect Mohan to oversee the state’s financial operations. The outcome could influence how the state addresses ongoing issues with its enterprise resource planning system and financial reporting processes.