October 18, 2009 07:21 PM UTC

Tom Wiens Buys In

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• by: Colorado Pols

Colorado Statesman:

It has been a long time coming, but the moment is nigh. Former state Sen. Tom Wiens, R-Castle Rock, says he’ll announce his candidacy for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate within the next three weeks.

The announcement will end what may be one of the longest unconsummated candidacies in Colorado history.

Wiens – who has said all along that he’d make his official announcement in the late fall – says he’ll officially launch his campaign in the first week of November.

“It won’t be on Halloween!” the candidate-in-waiting declared with a chuckle. “We wanted everything in place – and we will hit the ground running! It gives us plenty of time to run for the U.S. Senate.”

Wiens anticipates raising as much as $8 million for his U.S. Senate bid.

“It’d be tough to beat my Rolodex. In fact, I’ll put my Rolodex up against those Washington insiders any day of the week,” said Wiens, who added that he has a 100-member campaign finance team.

“We’re prepared to put a half-million dollars into the campaign,” said Diana Wiens, who mused about the imminent campaign announcement during a reception last Friday at The Pinnacle Club hosted by the Leadership Program of the Rockies. She said she views the investment as start-up capital.

We’ve been wondering what happened to Tom Wiens in the months since his exploratory committee announced a couple of months ago, but he’s always been a strong theoretical contender. We don’t consider the GOP primary field to be settled just yet, and we’ve never once doubted Wiens’ ability to raise all the money he needs–he’s not kidding about his top-tier Rolodex.

And if “Languid Jane” Norton fails to thrive, and Ken Buck continues to non-factor…?