November 02, 2009 10:05 PM UTC

Penry: Let Me At Him!

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• by: Colorado Pols

As the Colorado Springs Gazette reports:

State Sen. Josh Penry is eager to go one-on-one with Scott McInnis, his fellow Grand Junction resident, former boss and rival for the GOP governor’s nomination.

“We’re not going to win this race on the front porch, having an iced tea,” said Penry, who’s generally regarded as the underdog. “We’ve got to get out and sell ourselves.”

McInnis, a former congressman, is just as keen to avoid intramural damage before the big match against the Democratic incumbent, Bill Ritter. Last weekend in Colorado Springs, he told a meeting of the Colorado Federation of Republican Women that governors running for re-election in Colorado have been turned out of office only once in the last half-century.

“When you face those historical odds,” he said, “the critical thing that we have to do is unify. In the past, unfortunately, we kind of formed circular firing squads.”

McInnis has limited his direct exchanges with Penry, and on Monday said he would never agree to a full-on debate.

The policy has been criticized by Dick Wadhams, the state GOP chairman, and Penry said McInnis’ refusal to debate is “at his own peril,” adding, “I don’t think that will last very long.”

A poll follows.

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