July 11, 2018 09:30 AM UTC

Stapleton Taps Sias for LG, Confirms Screwing Up Process Entirely

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• by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE: The jokes write themselves:

.@WalkerStapleton enjoys the idea of being an underdog. “I hope to be the beneficiary of low expectations.” #copolitics pic.twitter.com/BJoGonTuOh

— Marshall Zelinger (@Marshall9News) July 11, 2018

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As Brian Eason first reported for the Associated Press this morning, Republican gubernatorial nominee Walker Stapleton has selected Arvada Rep. Lang Sias as his running mate and candidate for Lieutenant Governor.

AP Exclusive: Walker Stapleton this morning will announce state Rep. Lang Sias as his running mate in the #COgov race. #copolitics

— Brian Eason (@brianeason) July 11, 2018

What Sias may or may not bring to the Republican ticket is really a secondary conversation at this point, because this news confirms speculation that Stapleton’s campaign absolutely botched this entire process.

As we recapped earlier this week, Stapleton’s campaign opened the month of July by criticizing Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jared Polis for “rushing” the announcement of his own LG pick — former state Rep. Dianne Primavera. Stapleton’s campaign manager, Michael Fortney, tried desperately to spin this narrative in the face of what seemed to be a fairly obvious reality: That Stapleton’s team apparently didn’t realize that the law requires a gubernatorial nominee to choose a Lieutenant Governor within seven days of the June 26 Primary Election.

Fortney claimed on July 3 that Stapleton had indeed selected a running mate but would not make the announcement for several weeks under the theory that the law gives LG candidates 30 days to officially register their campaigns with the Colorado Secretary of State’s office. This story was immediately questioned by several reporters, including longtime political journalist Charles Ashby of the Grand Junction Sentinel. With Stapleton’s spin unraveling, Fortney then told reporters that the campaign was likely going to announce its running mate sometime around July 26 in order to theoretically generate more publicity for the decision.

Secret’s out! The Connecticut Connection continues.#COpolitics #COgov https://t.co/HCxOI4vEuE

— Dave Perry (@EditorDavePerry) July 11, 2018

If Stapleton did not, in fact, select a running mate within seven days of the Primary Election, then he appears to have broken the law. We know that Stapleton’s initial choice for Lieutenant Governor was CU Regent Heidi Ganahl, but Ganahl turned down the offer to be his running mate. Mesa County Commissioner Rose Pugliese was believed to be Stapleton’s second choice, though that has not been confirmed, and the rumor mill on Monday seemed to indicate that Jefferson County Commissioner Libby Szabo was at the top of Stapleton’s list. The point of all this speculation leads in the same direction: If Stapleton had actually selected a running mate as his campaign has claimed, there would not have been this insistent chatter about potential candidates to run alongside him.

Standing by for @WalkerStapleton announcing Rep. Lang Sias as his LG pick #kdvr #kwgn #copolitics #coleg pic.twitter.com/koajI8dSTK

— Joe St. George (@JoeStGeorge) July 11, 2018

Stapleton is apparently going to officially announce Sias at an event today — notice the totally-not-rushed signage in the photo above — and the campaign will cross its fingers that nobody asks for proof that Sias was indeed offered the job and agreed to said offer within the seven-day time limit. This is another terrible look for a bumbling Stapleton campaign that is constantly defending concerns that its candidate for Governor pays no attention to details and couldn’t manage a Taco Bell restaurant.