September 14, 2017 10:41 AM UTC

Buck Now Says He's "Very Unlikely" to Run for Attorney General

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• by: Jason Salzman

(So much for that? – Promoted by Colorado Pols)

After first mulling a run for Colorado attorney general if current AG Cynthia Coffman decided to enter the gubernatorial race–and then allegedly being on the verge of diving into the race and creating chaos–U.S. Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) is now saying it’s “very unlikely” he’d run for state AG.

Asked by KHOW 630-AM’s Ross Kaminsky whether he’d run for the office if Coffman ran for governor, Buck said, “Probably a month ago I would have said yes. Right now, I think it’s very unlikely that I do anything other than stay focused on running for the 4th Congressional and doing the job that I enjoy doing here in DC.”

“I think it’s getting late in the game to put a campaign together for governor or for attorney general,and therefore I am happy doing what I am doing,” Buck continued.

Buck’s comment about it being late to start a gubernatorial campaign may come as news to Colorado Treasurer Walker Stapleton and Coffman, both of whom are still rumored to be considering a run. Former GOP Congressman Tom Tancredo may still jump in, he’s said.

Buck grabbed headlines last month for stating, in a Denver Post op-ed, that the Republican Party is “dead.”

This pessimistic view fueled rumors that Buck would jump at the chance to run for Colorado attorney general.

But after penning the op-ed, Buck said on a Denver radio show:

“I am very happy where I am,” Buck told KNUS’ Dan Caplis. “And I am really feeling emboldened, in a lot of ways, about things – having a voice that can try to change the direction of policy in DC. And so I’m very thankful for that.”

But in the same radio interview, Buck also said that the GOP, as a “political party, that is fighting for the conservative beliefs that that you and I share – and that many others share – the Party is dead.”

Buck lost a close U.S. Senate race in Colorado in 2010 to Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet.