Posted on 08/29/2006 11:21:35 AM PDT by AntiGuv
Rep. Joel Hefley is seriously considering running as a writein candidate to retain his seat rather than risk handing it over to Republican nominee Doug Lamborn.
In meetings with national political consultants, Hefley and his supporters have come up with yard-sign designs and the key messages of a possible campaign, Republican Party activist Peggy Littleton said.
Hefley, who has represented the 5th Congressional District for 20 years, has been the subject of a three-week push by high-level Republicans to take this nearly unheard-of step, Littleton said Monday.
To be a write-in candidate, Hefley must file an affidavit of intention with the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office by 5 p.m. today.
Since Lamborn edged former Hefley aide Jeff Crank in a six-way primary on Aug. 8, a number of party leaders, including elected officials, have begged Hefley to run again because of concerns about how Lamborn conducted his primary campaign, said Littleton and another party activist, who asked to remain anonymous.
A Lamborn spokesman said the campaign was not aware of the possible write-in effort, but after learning about it from a reporter Monday, Lamborn attempted to reach Hefley.
In announcing his retirement in February, Hefley said that he had done enough in Washington, D.C. He has reconsidered, those close to him say, because of his displeasure with Lamborn’s nomination.
The only question remaining is whether the 71-year-old will make such a controversial move in the twilight of his career. The former rancher was in Oklahoma for a cousin’s funeral Monday and was unavailable for comment.
“It’s really been a concerted effort of many behind the scenes to make this happen,” Littleton said. “Looking at this, I don’t see how Joel can not do this.”
Shortly after announcing he would not seek an 11th term, Hefley endorsed Crank. Crank and Lamborn engaged in a bloody political battle that included third-party mailings accusing Crank of being a tax hiker and an advocate for the “radical homosexual lobby,” charges Lamborn either leveled or refused to renounce.
Lamborn, a state senator, won the primary by 892 votes and is set to face Democrat Jay Fawcett in a district that leans heavily Republican. Thirteen Republicans have publicly announced their support for Fawcett, and others have complained behind the scenes about Lamborn’s primary campaign.
Radio stations pulled two ads by an organization that backed Lamborn because their truth was questioned, and the Federal Election Commission is investigating a complaint Lamborn illegally collaborated with outside groups.
Lamborn maintains that he campaigned on his record during 12 years in the Legislature and that he simply highlighted unflattering parts of opponents’ records. He has said also that he had nothing to do with mailers from outside groups.
Hefley, who criticized negative campaigning at the May GOP congressional assembly, gained a reputation in his later years as a champion of ethics in politics. He led the House ethics committee when it chastised Majority Leader Tom DeLay — a member of his own party — and later lost that seat and was ostracized by DeLay and his allies.
Littleton said many well known elected officials will back Hefley if he runs. If he does not, she and others are likely to sit out the election or, in some cases, vote for Fawcett, she said.
“Joel is the essence of integrity. . . . He was able to overcome ‘The Hammer,’ Tom DeLay,” Littleton said.
Hefley wants to avoid “allowing someone who is very unethical to take over his seat,” she said.
Lamborn’s campaign manager, Jon Hotaling, said Monday that the effort seems like sour grapes. He noted Lamborn is backed by the state and national Republican parties and by the parties of all six counties in the district.
“It sounds like some of Crank’s supporters are still smarting from their loss, but the voters have spoken and Senator Lamborn is the duly elected Republican nominee,” Hotaling said.
If Hefley runs, he will be taking on not only his party’s nominated successor, but history. Only four members of Congress have been elected via the write-in process, and it has not happened in 24 years.
It is unknown if Hefley’s write-in campaign would increase Fawcett’s chances of becoming the first Democrat elected from the district.
Another registered Republican, Rich Hand, also is running as a write-in candidate, but he has generated little interest.
ping!
He's already said he won't run as a write-in.
Can you supply us with a date?
Oh, oops! You're right. I did not find the news when I searched before.
A very short-lived news arc! :)
Doug Lamborn was my State Senator and I liked him. He voted against intrusive laws pushed by the Federal Gov't such as primary seatbelt enforcement and when I talked to him, was very down to earth. I thnk he would be a breath of fresh air especailly against the Neo-Cons that have taken overCOngress especially the House.
Just out of curiousity, just what has Lamborn done to generate such opposition among the GOP? Or is this simply another case of the RINOs trying to undercut the conservatives?
"Hefley, 71, "thinks it's better for the party not to run," Walberg said. She said he was adamant when she spoke to him Tuesday.
"He said, 'No, no,"' she said. "He is of course flattered by the support."
Hefley was at a funeral and could not be reached immediately."
A couple of weeks before the primary, the Christian Coalition of Colorado sent out a direct mail piece claiming that Lamborn's main opponent, Jeff Crank, was a mouthpiece for the homosexual lobby. Several of Lamborn's staff resigned over these mailings and the national brank of the CC apologized and decried the ads. Coincidentally, the head of the Colorado branch of the Christian Coalition is the brother of Lamborn's campaign manager. Odd coincidence that.
The ads drew a lot of backlash against Lamborn and since these mailings came out after the absentee ballots were sent in, many feel that Lamborn would have lost if the voters had seen the ads earlier.
As for the "RINO" tag, Crank had the endorsement of outgoing representative Joel Hefley and Tom Tancredo, so that as you will.
(BTW: In interest of full disclosure, I live outside this district, so I don't have a dog in this fight.)
Sigh. So *take* that as you will.
I agree. It was just wishful thinking. The voters made their choice in the primary. They chose the most conservative and socially conservative candidate.
Time to make the sour grapes into wine.
Much ado about nothing. But Lamborn did tick off a lot of people with his negative ads.
Oh Rothenberg said 15-20, not 25. My bad That is a pretty good match to his list, if maybe slightly high.
There are some big, big differences (in order of most reliable to least) between Cook and Rothenburg, Chuck Todd, CQ, Novak, and the mydd list. I am not surprised by Drake where she is, since Cook has her in same place. And Cook pulled trigger to put her in tossup column fairly early, before NY-24 as I recall (and for that matter he still has OH-15 and PA-07 as leaning R which may be right, but gives you a sense of why I take it serious when he pulled trigger on Dtake that there was a real race).
My other thoughts. Why is OH-18 in the tossup column instead of Leaning R? I don't know what to think about IN-02, but I don't think it is one of our top 7 threats to lose a seat. Same with IN-08. By same token I was somewhat surprised that PA-06 was not in his top 7 in terms of GOP vulnerability (on other hand evidently the last poll there released some time ago has us down 1 and it was a D poll). I am surprised CT-04 is not in his list of 17 most vulnerable GOP seats. And I am surprised NY-24 is not on list of 24 most vulnerable GOP seats.
Lamborn's done some good things. His problem is that he's got a big mouth, and has trouble knowing when not to use it. As a result he often makes himself the issue, and that has caused problems in the past.
El Paso county is literally the most Republican county in the nation. One of the ways it stays that way is by having a happy record of elected (and able) Republicans who don't make the party look bad. The fear is that Lamborn will do just that -- and his rather ugly primary campaign simply reinforces the point.
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