July 17, 2009 04:59 PM UTC

RGA Chief Lauds Penry's 'Good Start,' McInnis Dealt Ominous Snub?

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• by: Colorado Pols

He did his best to feign neutrality, but there’s no mistaking Republican Governors Association executive director Nick Ayers’s affection for upstart gubernatorial candidate Josh Penry–affection that would necessarily come at the expense of…somebody else. From an interview with Ayers published Wednesday at FiveThirtyEight.com:

538: Last question: Is there an up-and-coming young Republican politician-I don’t know, perhaps a county executive or state legislator-whom most of our readers have probably never heard of, but we ought to keep an eye on because he or she has the potential to become the next Bobby Jindal or Tim Pawlenty?

NA: Oh, boy. We have so many great candidates. Most are in primaries, and I’m respectful of the primary process. So the names I’m giving aren’t a reflection on their in-state competition. They’re just folks we think have gotten off to a good start in their primaries.

You’ve got to look at Charlie Baker in Massachusetts. You’ve got to look at a Tom Corbett in Pennsylvania, who I believe got about a third of a million more votes in 2008 than John McCain did, which is just incredible. You’ve got a guy named Josh Penry in Colorado who has created some enthusiasm there. He’s very young-only 32-and he’s running for governor… [Pols emphasis]

Those are just four of the 40 or so great candidates we’ve got running for governor in 2010.

Ayers can say he disclaimed this praise of primary candidate Penry by noting he was, you know, in a primary. He had to start with a throwaway disclaimer or he would get pilloried for taking a side. And it’s true the interviewer was asking about “up-and-coming Republicans.”

But these comments from the head of the RGA help clarify who national Republican kingmakers have their eye on…and who they don’t. This sort of early signal, in fact, is often highly predictive of end results. And frankly, after stacking up Penry’s so-far excellent campaign launch against opponent Scott McInnis’ string of earned media disasters and self-inflicted gaffes?

We’d be considering the GOP’s infamous “Rule 11” ourselves, folks. We’re not quite ready to say anything so decisive is happening just yet in this race, but comments like these are never made in a vacuum–and it wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen the GOP’s institutional stars line up against McInnis, would it?