Steve HouseGOP Chairman Steve House is testing the political waters for a possible run at the governor’s mansion while keeping his options open to campaign instead for his current job in 2017.

What he doesn’t want to do, is cause “chaos,” House said.

“If I were to run for governor, the one thing I would not do is run for chair again,” House told ColoradoPolitics.com.

“Just because I don’t run for chair doesn’t mean I’m going to run for governor. But the one thing I wouldn’t do to the party is run for chair and then drop out and run for governor, because I think that would be too damaging for the party.”

So that means House would have to make up his mind in the next month, when he said he would decide whether or not to try and retain his party chairmanship.

George Athanasopolous isn’t waiting for House to decide, and announced earlier this week that he intended to seek the Republican chair.

The field for the gubernatorial race in 2018 is already attracting a lot of Republican candidates, with interest from Treasurer Walker Stapleton, Secretary of State Wayne Williams, Attorney General Cynthia Coffman, District Attorney George Brauchler, and state Sen. Ray Scott.

Next year may be an off-season for election, but already it’s shaping up to be a busy year for politics.