That said, Lamborn made a lot of enemies in the primary because of the nasty campaign he ran. He is not well respected or well liked by many Republicans. This might give you an idea of what's going on:
Hefley won’t run, but blasts Lamborn campaign
By ED SEALOVER THE GAZETTE
Congressman Joel Hefley said Tuesday that he will stick to his plan to retire at the end of the year, despite an effort to have him seek re-election as a write-in candidate.
The 20-year Republican congressman said, however, that he will not back GOP nominee Doug Lamborn for the seat, explaining that he can not condone the way the state senator campaigned in a six-way primary.
“I feel that he ran the most sleazy, dishonest campaign I’ve seen in a long, long time, and I can not support it,” Hefley said in a telephone interview. He is in Oklahoma for a cousin’s funeral.
Neither Lamborn nor his campaign manager could be reached for comment Tuesday morning.
Several Republicans revealed on Monday that they have been conducting a three-week push for Hefley to take the improbable step of running as a write-in. The effort, which had involved national political consultants and elected officials, was a reaction to widespread dislike of Lamborn, party activist Peggy Littleton said.
Hefley said Tuesday that despite listening to a number of people, he had not seriously considered the race. His February decision to retire had been a tough one, but he is looking forward to opportunities in the private sector rather than running another race, he said.
The former chairman of the House ethics committee, who had endorsed his former aide and eventual primary runner-up Jeff Crank, said, though, that he was “stunned by the dissatisfaction with Doug Lamborn as a candidate.” He then added his name to the list of dissatisfied.
In his rebuke of Lamborn’s campaign, Hefley cited the attempts by Lamborn and third-party groups to portray Crank as a tax hiker and supporter of radical homosexual causes.
Lamborn has defended his campaign as of one of issues and has said he had no interaction with groups that mailed out some of the most negative ads.
Though he will not endorse Lamborn, Hefley said it would be “very difficult” as well to support Democrat Jay Fawcett because he wants Republicans to keep control of the House. But he added: “I don’t know what I’m going to do at this point about that.”
That's the current, retiring Congressman from CO-5 talking, FRiends. Lamborn has a problem.
Is Joel Hefley a RINO or just an idiot? Or both?