UPDATE: Bartels revises her initial report--Sen. Ted Harvey now says he will indeed resign his Senate seat if elected GOP chairman.
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That's the word from Lynn Bartels at the Denver paper's blog: state Sen. Ted Harvey of Highlands Ranch announced today that he will challenge Colorado GOP chairman Dick Wadhams for his well-paid position at party leadership elections in March. Sen. Harvey has worked in recent years to raise his profile among party activists at all levels; from helping his fellow legislators on campaigns, to a prominent role in ousting the Douglas County School Board in 2009.
Harvey is not required to resign his Senate seat should he defeat Wadhams; we could see that working in his favor when it comes time for GOP activists to chart their course due to his hands-on experience. Or, just like they whispered about Wadhams' taking on additional responsibilities while serving as chairman...it could work against him.
Bottom line? We're not as sure that Sen. Harvey represents the kind of risk to Wadhams that other Republican possibilities discussed in recent weeks likely would if they got in the race, but Harvey is going to pose a real challenge. Harvey is a credible enough figure to mount a successful campaign, and he has a couple of things going for him:
For one thing, Harvey is likely to receive the support of most GOP elected officials, which matters because they all have a vote in the decision (remember, it's not just those county chairs and other locally-elected insiders who get to vote on this). The other advantage for Harvey is one that a lot of Republicans we know are seeking above everything else--his name isn't Dick Wadhams.
When we wrote earlier this month about Wadhams' decision to run for re-election, we noted that it was likely that Wadhams would not have announced a bid unless he already knew what the result might be. We've since learned that we were perhaps giving Wadhams too much credit; there's a very strong opinion in high-level GOP circles that Wadhams is running for re-election because he has no place else to go. If that's the case, the Harvey-Wadhams showdown could be a heck of a lot of fun to watch.
And a collective "D'Oh!" rises from Colorado Republicans in the legislature. From The Associated Press:
A Colorado state senator and the mortgage company where he works are being investigated for allegedly misleading consumers by sending out advertising flyers that look like official tax documents, a state official said Wednesday.
Investigators believe Republican Sen. Ted Harvey and American Home Funding-the Greenwood Village company where he works as a broker-violated state laws by sending the ads, said Colorado Division of Real Estate Director Erin Toll...
...The flyer features the Statue of Liberty and Federal Housing Administration notice codes that rate the notification "Urgency: HIGH" and warns that "a call to action is required." It has a notice in small print on the side that says it's not a government document...
...Harvey said the notices are no different than those from other financial institutions. He rejected suggestions that he or the company broke the law.
Sure, that sounds bad. But here's the kicker: Earlier this year Harvey tried to introduce legislation that would have restricted the state's ability to regulate mortgage brokers.
Harvey said he got into a dispute with the division about a month ago after he proposed legislation that would remove Toll's authority to investigate mortgage brokers and set up a board, similar to boards in the same division that hear complaints against real estate agents and appraisers. The legislation also would have set up an appeals process. [Pols emphasis]
The dispute escalated when a member of Toll's staff showed disrespect when he tried to explain his proposed bill, Harvey said. He said he shook his finger in the staffer's face to get their attention, but he denied trying to intimidate the staffer.
Barbara Kelley, executive director of the Department of Regulatory Agency, Toll's boss, rejected the proposed legislation in a letter dated Feb. 18, which was obtained by The Associated Press under the Colorado Open Records Act. She told Harvey and other lawmakers that the division is following state law, which requires that a director oversee the mortgage loan originators program, because the board system is too expensive.
Republican congressional candidate Mike Coffman announced today strong fundraising numbers, at the same time that fellow candidates Ted Harvey and Wil Armstrong announced meaningless news.
First, a press release from the campaign of CD-6 candidate Mike Coffman:
Highlands Ranch, CO - Sixth Congressional District candidate Mike Coffman announced today that he will report having raised over $300,000 in contributions this quarter, bringing his overall total to over $750,000 to date.
"The fact that each quarter we have been able to surpass our fundraising total from the previous reporting period is very encouraging. These strong numbers will ensure we have the resources needed to make a strong push in the final six weeks of the campaign", said Coffman Campaign Manager Dustin Zvonek...
...Coffman for Congress will file a full financial report with the Federal Election Commission on July 15th to include all contributions and expenditures during the second reporting period of 2008.
Coffman's fundraising should keep him firmly atop the CD-6 leaderboard, and the amount he raised in Q2 alone will likely be more than candidates Ted Harvey and Steve Ward raise in total when all is said and done.
Elsewhere in CD-6, Harvey announced the endorsement of The Credit Union National Association (CUNA) and their Colorado affiliate, the Credit Union Association of Colorado (CUAC). Wil Armstrong added to his list of endorsements by announcing that he has the support of gasbag radio host Dan Caplis. Yay for them.
The campaign for Republican Mike Coffman in CD-6 released new internal poll numbers today. According to a press release:
Highlands Ranch, CO - Sixth Congressional District candidate Mike Coffman released today results from a recent poll of likely Republican primary voters.
Question: "If the Republican primary election for Congress were held today and you had to make a choice, for whom would you vote?"
Response:
Mike Coffman 47%
Wil Armstrong 19%
Ted Harvey 7%
Steve Ward 4%
The poll was conducted for the Coffman for Congress campaign by the Tarrance Group between 5/27/08 and 5/28/08 with a margin of error of +/- 5.8%
"These numbers are very encouraging, especially considering the fact that there are only 39 days until absentee ballots will be mailed out to voters and just over 70 days until the Primary Election", said Coffman Campaign Manager Dustin Zvonek.
"One of the most significant aspects of these numbers is that margin between Mike and his closest competitor is now greater than the number of undecided voters", added Zvonek.
These are certainly strong numbers, and although they should be taken with a grain of salt coming from an internal poll, it's hard to argue the logic of the results. Coffman has both the money and the name ID, and none of the other candidates can match him in either department. Whether or not Coffman really polls at 47% is irrelevant; what this poll shows is that his numbers are strong enough to indicate that this race is all but over.
Republican Secretary of State and CD-6 candidate Mike Coffman begins airing television and radio ads today, the first of the campaign cycle in CD-6. The ad is available on You Tube.
Yes, the race is far from over. Yes, a lot can happen in the next several months. But after two straight laughable campaign finance reports, Republican Ted Harvey is all but dead as a candidate for congress in CD-6:
Coffman and Armstrong aren't likely to slow down in their fundraising battle, which means that Harvey would have to do astronomically well in Q2 to even be in the ballpark before the primary. This one is a two-man race, folks.
Republican Secretary of State Mike Coffman reported raising $244,239 in Q1 for his campaign for congress in CD-6. Coffman now has $323,897 cash on hand. Click below for the full press release.
From the campaign of Republican CD-6 candidate Mike Coffman:
Highlands Ranch, CO - This past Friday, March 14th, the Coffman for Congress campaign sent a letter to all of the candidates in the race for the 6th Congressional District urging them to sign a pledge to disavow any and all negative 527 activities.
"The voters of the Sixth Congressional District deserve a campaign that is centered on issues and ideas, not petty personal attacks", said Coffman.
Coffman for Congress Campaign Manager, Dustin Zvonek added, "After what took place in the 2006 primary for the 5th Congressional District and in the primary for the U.S. Senate in 2004, we believe it's important for the voters and the Republican Party to have a clean and honest election. We hope our opponents agree and will sign the pledge".
Sign the pledge. Disavow away. Who cares? No candidate is supposed to "know" anything about 527 campaigns anyway. It doesn't take a lot of backbone to disavow something you aren't supposed to acknowledge anyway. Or perhaps this is Coffman's way of pre-emptively giving himself cover for 527 attacks that he knows will come against his opponents.
Republican Sen. Ted Harvey, one of several elephants running for congress in CD-6, has a prediction to make: Secretary of State Mike Coffman - GASP! - won't go to the caucus!!!
Harvey's campaign sent out a silly press release last Friday (click below for the full release) predicting that Coffman would bypass the caucus process:
Today, State Senator Ted Harvey's campaign for Congress predicted that fellow 6th Congressional District candidate, Colorado Secretary of State Mike Coffman, will soon announce that he will bypass the Republican Party's grassroots-based caucus nominating process and opt to gather petition signatures to place him on the Primary Election ballot.
"I hope Mike will join me to directly engage our grassroots Republican activists but it's clear he lacks the base support I have and feels he can't afford to lose this first contest for our party's nomination," said Harvey.
Harvey is obviously trying hard to set himself up as the establishment Republican Party candidate, even though he didn't raise squat during the Q4 fundraising period ($35,000 compared to more than $200,000 each for Coffman and Wil Armstrong). This release would make a lot more sense AFTER the caucus rather than issuing a goofy statement predicting something to happen.
Republican Ted Harvey reported raising $35,190 in his first quarter as a candidate for congress in CD-6, significantly less than the $213,000 raised by Mike Coffman.
