Colorado Republican Party Chairman Steve House is unsure whether he will seek re-election next year as he continues to mull a run for governor in 2018.

House, who has served as chairman of the party since March 2015, said he doesn’t want to put the party through chaos if he does choose to enter the gubernatorial race.

“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.”

A run in 2018 would not be House’s first. He ran for governor in 2014, when he failed to make the ballot at the state convention.

The GOP gubernatorial field is shaping up to be a crowded one, with Arapahoe County District Attorney George Brauchler and state Treasurer Walker Stapleton considering runs. Other high-profile names mentioned in Republican circles include Secretary of State Wayne Williams, Attorney General Cynthia Coffman and state Sen. Ray Scott of Grand Junction.

Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper is term limited in 2018, so Democrats also are vying for the open seat.

House, an Adams County businessman, also is considering heading back to the private sector, where he has worked as an engineer, service manager, in sales, and held a variety of executive roles in health care.

“My options are pretty simple,” House said. “I either run for chair, do something else in politics, or go back to the private sector, and I don’t know yet which one of those things will ultimately play out.”

House’s thinking comes at a time when both Republicans and Democrats are facing a bit of uncertainty in Colorado.

Democratic Chairman Rick Palacio announced this week that he will not seek re-election. Instead, outgoing state Sen. Morgan Carroll of Aurora has announced that she will seek the position to lead the state party.

House joked that he should consider running against Carroll: “I want to bring perspective to the other half of the state … I think I could get Rick Palacio to endorse me,” House quipped, highlighting his positive relationship with Palacio.

Meanwhile, Jefferson County military veteran George Athanasopolous, who last month lost a challenge to Democratic incumbent Ed Perlmutter in the 7th Congressional District, announced this week that he would run for chair of the Colorado Republican Party.

Republican insiders also are discussing other candidates to run for party chair as well.

The GOP saw a mixed bag on election night in Colorado.

While the state went for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump, the party held onto its control of the state Senate and fought off spirited challenges to Republican-held congressional seats. Mike Coffman kept his seat in the 6th Congressional District and Scott Tipton held on in the 3rd Congressional District.

But Republicans also lost three seats in the state House and lost control of the State Board of Education for the first time in 50 years. The GOP also failed to mount a serious campaign against U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, with Republican Darryl Glenn losing by 6 points.

The going has been tough for House at times. He survived an attempt by some in the party to oust him over a lack of confidence. And he was accused this year of working against Trump during the primary in favor of Ted Cruz, something party chairs are encouraged not to do.

House said he will make a decision in the first two weeks of January, ahead of when new officers are elected in February.

“I’m not sure what I’m going to do yet,” House said. “One thing I’m not going to do is leave the party in a position in Colorado where it could or would go backwards from where we’re at.”