Republicans’ Dance Card Nearly Full

State Treasurer Walker Stapleton
Photo: Jerilee Bennett/The Gazette

With the entry of Walker Stapleton, the Republican line-up for governor appears complete. However, just to maintain a little suspense, two names continue to be mentioned. Attorney General Cynthia Coffman has been coy about her intentions. She would be a formidable candidate from having been the highest Republican vote-getter in 2014 and after three years of sparing and periodically cooperating with Governor Hickenlooper.

Also back in his self-promoting mode is perennial insurgent Tom Tancredo. He would be mostly a spoiler, but his anti-immigration, anti-establishment position attracts reliable activists among the party’s faithful.

Stapleton must be considered a frontrunner for the nomination. His assets include serious fundraising depth with national Bush family contacts and a host of issues to run on – PERA reform, anti-tax positions (opposing single-payer/billion dollars for education initiatives) and term limits. But Stapleton is the epitome of the establishment in an era that seems to reward the outsider and the edgy insurgent.