June 27, 2018 10:33 AM UTC

A Few Parting Words For Levi Tillemann

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• by: Colorado Pols

KDVR FOX 31 reporting on the end of the Democratic CD-6 primary, most surely with a bang for frontrunner candidate Jason Crow and a whimper for Crow’s opponent Levi “Mace Your Face” Tillemann:

Jason Crow won the Democratic nomination to take on Republican Mike Coffman for Colorado’s 6th Congressional District in November.

Crow, a former Army Ranger, received institutional support and beat Levi Tillemann 66 percent to 34 percent.

Crow will face off against Coffman, a Republican who has held the congressional seat centered on Aurora for nearly a decade.

Crow has had the upper hand in terms of fundraising and organization in this primary all along, and locals familiar with the race are not surprised that Crow blew out Tillemann. This win does merit a little additional discussion, however, due to some consternation stirred up by Tillemann earlier in the race when he disclosed he had talked to Rep. Steny Hoyer, a principal national Democratic congressional strategist–and that Hoyer had explained to Tillemann in blunt terms that Crow was the favored candidate both locally and nationally.

Tillemann’s disclosure of this phone call, which was picked up by The Intercept and other political outlets, resulted in a number of big-name progressive political groups including Democracy For America (DFA) the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) jumping to Tillemann’s defense. We have to assume this was more an acting out of those groups’ longstanding animus toward the institutional leadership of the Democratic Party than an assessment of Tillemann’s viability.

And the reason for that is simple: Levi Tillemann was never a viable contender to take on Rep. Mike Coffman, whose survival skills against career-ending political odds have become legendary in his decade in office. Tillemann couldn’t raise money, didn’t have a coherent message, and was reliant almost entirely on intraparty discontent (not to mention ridiculous stunts) to cultivate support. No matter how much you chafe against the party brass, there’s no winning in one of the nation’s most competitive races without them–especially when you don’t have anything else to work with. And Tillemann didn’t.

It’s not our intention to downplay the sometimes reasonable concerns about undue influence in primaries by remote party leadership. In this case, though, we have a candidate who completely failed to live up to the rebellious hype. That’s an important lesson for everyone who wants not just to feel good, but also to win.