May 14, 2017 09:12 AM UTC

OMG Victor Mitchell Has 10,000 Likes!

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• by: Colorado Pols

Big story from the Colorado Statesman’s Ernest Luning, click or you’ll miss it:

Republican gubernatorial candidate Victor Mitchell has amassed more than 10,000 fans of his candidate page on Facebook, the businessman and former state lawmaker said this week, achieving what his campaign maintains is a significant benchmark 18 months before the election.

“Our campaign is off to an incredible start, and it’s humbling that so many have joined our movement to take our governorship back,” Mitchell said. “Our unique and substantive campaign of fresh and bold ideas to move Colorado forward is clearly resonating.”

Mitchell boasted that more than half a million Coloradans have watched his online issue videos. In addition, he said, he’s meeting voters at two events a day, on average, and has already visited 40 of the state’s 64 counties. “Our campaign will continue to be both grassroots and high-tech,” he said.

If you haven’t figured it out, we were kidding about this being a “big story.” But it’s illustrative of how quiet the 2018 GOP gubernatorial race is today. After Arapahoe County DA George Brauchler’s entry in the race failed to ignite anything like field-clearing momentum, there’s a vacuum right now that two self-funding candidates, Victor “Dracula” Mitchell and Mitt Romney’s nephew Doug “Mark Udall’s Evil Twin” Robinson, are spending big to fill. Chances are, Robinson has a banner ad at the top of this page right now–scroll up and see for yourself.

In Donald Trump’s Republican Party, it’s probably an understatement to say that primary dynamics looking ahead to 2018 are a little…well, scrambled. There’s no question that Mitchell in particular is trying to position himself as the Trump-style disruptor in this field. Robinson would like to claim the same mantle, but as Mitt Romney’s nephew that turns laughable in a hurry (see: Jeb!).

And while we rightly crack jokes about filler stories like this one, early spending by these relative outsiders online and on social media to raise their name ID is in fact a very good use of their riches. For “traditional” candidates either in or thinking about this race, the clock is most assuredly ticking.