Posted on 02/26/2014 1:53:07 PM PST by amnestynone
Colorado Rep. Cory Gardner plans to enter the Republican Senate primary to take on freshman Sen. Mark Udall, three sources told POLITICO Wednesday.
Gardner had rebuffed multiple overtures from national Republicans over the past year, but recruitment efforts continued into this week as the GOP strained to find a viable challenger to Udall, who polls have shown is vulnerable. News of Gardner’s move was first reported by The Denver Post.
Continue Reading Text Size -+resetAdvertisementLatest on POLITICO Hagel turns up heat about U.S. POW Perry: 'We will continue to fight' Hagel sells tighter defense budget Cynthia Brown joins Blank Rome Affleck puts spotlight on the Congo Cruz: GOP leaders don't get it Some conservatives had embraced Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck, the party’s unsuccessful 2010 Senate nominee. But among national Republicans, deep reservations persist about Buck after he came up short against Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet – now the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee – in what was widely viewed as a winnable race.
It remains to be seen whether the state GOP and national conservatives will rally around Gardner.
Reached by phone, Colorado Republican Party Chairman Ryan Call praised Gardner as an up-and-comer within the party. While he stopped short of confirming or endorsing a statewide campaign by Gardner, Call praised the second-term congressman.
“He’s a real rising star within our party. He’s been doing a fantastic job in the U.S. Congress,” Call said. “Whatever he decides to do in politics, I’m sure will inure to the benefit of the people of our state.”
In addition to giving Republicans a stronger recruit for the Senate race, Gardner’s expected entry raises the stakes for one of the big-picture strategic questions of the 2014 cycle: Whether sitting members of the unpopular U.S. House of Representatives make good Senate candidates.
Republicans already appear set to nominate members of Congress for Senate races in Montana, Arkansas and Louisiana, while Democrats are putting forward members of the House in Michigan and Iowa.
What says Cruz?
Barring no Tea Party type person I will take 1/2 a cup versus no cup at all. We need to start moving this Country into a Conservative direction, even if it is a 1/2 step at a time.
PING.
This foreshadows Brown jumping in in Mass.
Any Coloradoan know anything about this guy?
Will he be the most conservative in the race?
Not from Colorado but (or was)Ken Buck is likely the most conservative guy in the race. But, he blew a golden oppurtunity 4 years ago. We need to take out Mark Udall badly. He (Gardner) supposedly has strength from both Conservatives and establishment guys and was conisdered the strongest candidate on our side. AS I was typing this I found out that Ken Buck was dropping out and running for Gardners seat in the house so he must have the Ken Buck seal of approval which would indicate he is conservative enough.
I thought Brown was looking to run in New Hampshire?
Udall is no freshman, been burdened with him a long time.
Yes, I meant NH. Thanks for the correction.
I don’t know if Brown has announced yet. I get frequent emails from him, so it sounds like he’s prepping for a run. He’d have a better shot in NH than in MA.
“Any Coloradoan know anything about this guy?
Will he be the most conservative in the race?”
I know Cory quite well. Did quite a bit of work towards his original nomination the first time he ran for the House and did subsequent work for him against Betsy Marxy.
Cory’s a great guy and very conservative, and even though he hasn’t always had the guts to go against Boehner’s leadership all of the time, he’s frequently been in the group stopping Boehner on issues like immigration and other egregious sell-outs.
Quite frankly, I’m thrilled about this. Cory is very electable and pretty darn conservative! He’s also smart and knows how to deal with the press.
Now we have a first-tier candidate who can win the Senate seat in Colorado.
“Now we have a first-tier candidate who can win the Senate seat in Colorado.”
Indeed. They don’t come any better-tier in Colorado right now than Cory. He’s very conservative, but smart and non-offensive. The Dems are probably really panicking now that Udall has to run against Cory instead of Buck.
Man, what super-awesome news.
Anyway, if I said this is welcome news I would be downplaying it!
“Not from Colorado but (or was)Ken Buck is likely the most conservative guy in the race. But, he blew a golden oppurtunity 4 years ago. We need to take out Mark Udall badly. He (Gardner) supposedly has strength from both Conservatives and establishment guys and was conisdered the strongest candidate on our side. AS I was typing this I found out that Ken Buck was dropping out and running for Gardners seat in the house so he must have the Ken Buck seal of approval which would indicate he is conservative enough.”
Good information. Thanks for sharing.
“I know Cory quite well. Did quite a bit of work towards his original nomination the first time he ran for the House and did subsequent work for him against Betsy Marxy. Cory’s a great guy and very conservative, and even though he hasn’t always had the guts to go against Boehner’s leadership all of the time, he’s frequently been in the group stopping Boehner on issues like immigration and other egregious sell-outs. Quite frankly, I’m thrilled about this. Cory is very electable and pretty darn conservative! He’s also smart and knows how to deal with the press.”
Thanks, catnipman.
Gardner has a 71% rating from Heritage. Nothing spectacular, but not deep RINO territory either. It’s mainly on farming subsidies and such, though he also voted for the ridiculous ‘Violence Against Women Act’. That being said, his other major votes seem okay.
Gardner’s staff needs to get back to work. It took me three pages of the Google search engine to find his website.
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