Hickenlooper Supporters Want Tancredo as Nominee

Just like in 2010 when Colorado Democratic money players helped Republican gubernatorial frontrunner Scott McInnis sidetrack his career, they are again spending money to help what they consider a surefire loser against Governor John Hickenlooper – Tom Tancredo.

As a tertiary benefit, they see Tancredo, historically a flamethrower of a candidate, not only self-immolating, but burning down the entire Republican ticket.

The ethics and hypocrisy of interfering with the other party’s selection of a candidate to promote the most polarizing candidate doesn’t appear to weigh on them other than trying to keep their personal names or the party label off the advertisement and the record. They call their PAC, “Protect Colorado Values.”

If Tancredo wins the primary, the stealth Democratic Super PAC will then attack him as an extremist, representing a party prone to anti-immigration candidates and philosophy.

 

Gov. John Hickenlooper and Tom Tancredo

The next time Democrats try to climb to the high ground and condemn some misbehavior of Republicans, the primary of 2014 should be remembered.

Reported in Colorado Observer, Valerie Richardson; Colorado Peak Politics; Colorado Pols; Compass Colorado, Samantha Davis; Complete Colorado, Todd Shepherd; and Fox 31, Eli Stokols.

Colorado Observer, Valerie Richardson, 6-5-14

Denver pollster Floyd Ciruli said the idea is to boost the Republican candidate in the June 24 primary that Democratic insiders believe will be least difficult for Gov. John Hickenlooper to defeat in November. Fair or not, that’s Tancredo.

Ciruli noted that Democrats have played this card before. In 2010, a Democrat-backed committee invested in attack ads against former Rep. Scott McInnis, who ultimately lost the GOP primary to little-known candidate Dan Maes. Hickenlooper won the race easily against Maes and Tancredo, who ran as a third-party candidate.

“I personally believe it is totally unethical, but it’s obviously not illegal, nor is it unique,” said Ciruli.

Swaying a few hundred votes could mean the difference between victory and defeat in a primary contest that’s only expected to draw about 400,000 voters, said Ciruli.

“If that’s the situation, then that kind of confirms what the Democrats are thinking, too: That with a relatively modest investment, well placed, they can influence this race and get what they would like out of it,” said Ciruli.