It’s not like Republicans needed any help screwing up in Colorado. They were doing just fine on their own. But Tom Tancredo’s third-party gubernatorial bid has pretty much sealed the deal. Polls — and even some Colorado Republicans — suggest that barring some highly unforeseen circumstance, Tancredo’s presence in the race will all but hand victory to Democrat John Hickenlooper.How did it come to this? First, both Republican primary candidates had scandals and problems crop up in the weeks before the August 10 primary. Former Rep. Scott McInnis was hit with a plagiarism scandal over a series of articles on water policy he was paid $300,000 to write in 2005 and 2006. Meanwhile, Tea Party-friendly candidate Dan Maes agreed to pay thousands in campaign finance violation fines, and his self-made image as a strong business leader was undone by the release of tax returns showing him struggling to earn a living.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=122981