Free Republic

Colorado gubernatorial candidate Tom Tancredo couldn’t win a statewide race if the Democratic candidate were caught in a sexting scandal, according to the Colorado Springs Gazette’s editorial board. In a scathing editorial, the paper urged Republican primary candidates Scott Gessler and Mike Kopp — described in the editorial as capable candidates — to fall on their swords and bow out of the June 24 primary race. That would eliminate the chance for moderate Republicans to split three ways between them and former Congressman Bob Beauprez — the scenario that makes it easiest for Tancredo to win the nomination.

Gov. John Hickenlooper called Thursday for a focus on bipartisanship in the 2014 legislative session, but Republicans can be forgiven for greeting his proposal with a certain skepticism. The 2013 legislative session, often described as the most liberal in state history, may have also been the most partisan. Democrats pushed through major legislation with no Republican votes on a half-dozen fronts, including election reform, gun control, education funding, and the rural renewable-energy standard. “It would be lovely if he behaved in a bipartisan manner, but that’s not what we saw last year,” said state Sen. Greg Brophy (R-Wray... ... This...

MILWAUKEE — If Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) is worried about his reelection odds, he’s not showing it publicly. “It seemed like I really had an unfair advantage,” Hickenlooper quipped after a Democratic Governors Association briefing here Friday afternoon. “The approval ratings were so high — it really didn’t seem even fair. So, we made a few strategic decisions to try to move ourselves back into play, forcing us to be on our game, a little more focused.” A June Quinnipiac University poll showed the first-term Democrat running neck and neck with Republican Tom Tancredo, a failed 2010 gubernatorial candidate...

Republicans on the House Administration Committee want to shore up voter registration rules in the wake of a Colorado study that found as many as 5,000 non-citizens in the state took part in last year’s election. Rep. Gregg Harper (R-Miss.), the panel’s chairman, called the study “a disturbing wake-up call” that should cause every state to review its safeguards to prevent illegal voting. “We simply cannot have an electoral system that allows thousands of non-citizens to violate the law and vote in our elections. We must do more to protect the integrity of our electoral processes,” Harper added. Colorado Secretary...

Tom Tancredo will become Colorado's next governor, and Republicans will take over the state's legislature while Attorney General John Suthers will be re-elected, predicted David Flaherty, president and CEO of Magellan Data and Mapping Strategies, a Louisville, CO, pollster that works for Republicans around the country. In a phone interview, Flaherty said polls that show John Hickenlooper winning the gubernatorial race are using demographics and turnout numbers that incorrectly skew their results in favor of Democrats. "I do believe that Tom Tancredo is going to win," Flaherty declared. In recent polls, Tancredo has about 73% of Republican voters. Flaherty thinks...