U.S. Senate
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(D) J. Hickenlooper*
(R) Somebody
80%
20%
Governor
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(D) Michael Bennet
(D) Phil Weiser
60%↑
50%↓
Att. General
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(D) M. Dougherty
(D) Jena Griswold
60%↑
40%↑
Sec. of State
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(D) A. Gonzalez
(D) J. Danielson
(R) Sheri Davis
50%
40%
30%
State Treasurer
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(D) Brianna Titone
(D) Jeff Bridges
(R) Kevin Grantham
40%
40%
30%
CO-01 (Denver)
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(D) Diana DeGette*
(R) Somebody
90%
2%
CO-02 (Boulder-ish)
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(D) Joe Neguse*
(R) Somebody
90%
2%
CO-03 (West & Southern CO)
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(R) Jeff Hurd*
(D) Somebody
80%
40%
CO-04 (Northeast-ish Colorado)
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(R) Lauren Boebert*
(D) Somebody
90%
10%
CO-05 (Colorado Springs)
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(R) Jeff Crank*
(D) Somebody
80%
20%
CO-06 (Aurora)
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(D) Jason Crow*
(R) Somebody
90%
10%
CO-07 (Jefferson County)
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(D) B. Pettersen*
(R) Somebody
90%
10%
CO-08 (Northern Colo.)
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(R) Gabe Evans*
(D) Manny Rutinel
(D) Yadira Caraveo
45%↓
40%↑
30%
State Senate Majority
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DEMOCRATS
REPUBLICANS
80%
20%
State House Majority
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DEMOCRATS
REPUBLICANS
95%
5%
May 23, 2006 08:00 AM UTC
30 Comments
I believe there is an important distinction to make here. If more than one candidate garners the required support (30%) at an assembly/convention, then the party should remain neutral. However, if the assembly/convention process nominates only one candidate and others petition onto the ballot, then the party should endorse its candidate nominated by the assembly/convention process. Although the petition process is a legal method to enter an election, the caucus system should be the preferred method for all parties.
Chairman Martinez represents the central committee. The Central Committee elected Bob Beauprez with an overwhelming majority of 72%. While the Chair should not take a position in the primary… he is the Chair of the central committe – the majority of which rejected Marc Holtzman.
Mr. Holtzman did not get 30% – Martinez has a right to call for him not to run!
The petition process is a legal method and it should be honored as such. The party should stay out of it until the primary is over. Openly endorsing someone who wins the caucus basically nullifies the petition process and the petitioner.
State chairs can work behind the scenes to unite the party and ask candidates that didn’t meet the threshold to step down.
Publicly? No way. State Chairs are not king makers and have no right to behave as such.
HRRepub is right. If it had been close, of course, Martinez should stay out of it. It wasn’t close and given Holtzman’s overly aggressive yet unproductive performance to date, the responsible thing for the party leader to do is to urge him to drop out and get behind the candidate who can ultimately win the governor’s race. The R’s need to work together to keep this seat or Ritter goes in.
If the State Party was so hell bent on people not taking sides during Ref C & D, they should remain silent while Beauprez and Holtzman deal with their beef.
Otherwise, Martinez should call on every candidate who is trying to petition on to drop out.
I am a BB supporter, however BM’s support of BB has been obvious. MH got enough delegates to have the option to petition on, I do not believe BM should weigh in on this debate.
The Party apparatus is so corrupt at this point I could care less. I stopped giving money to them in January.
FYI – Colo Repub Caucus is simply wrong. The Colorado Republican Central Committee has not voted on this race. The Colorado Republican State Assembly has. I imagine if the State Central Committee had voted on this race, it would be much closer than the State Assembly, since the State Central Committee knows a bit more about BM’s shenanigans…
Ditto on Middle of the Road’s post.
CC vs Assembly,
I highly doubt that the results would be any different…
The Central Committee is full of the same hacks as most of the party apparatus. This is just the same crap that we saw 2 years ago, the Party Chair wants to be a kingmaker and damn what the people want.
Middle of the road and Be Constitant couldn’t be more right.
My understanding has always been that the function of the party organization is to provide a support framework to help in the election of Republican candidates – not to select those candidates. The point that there is an important distinction between the central committee and the assembly is an important one. The part chair was totally out of line in requesting Holtzman to end his campaign. Granted, 28% likely makes continuing the campaign an expensive folly; but that is not the party’s problem. Also, the party by-laws are not “suggestions” or “guidelines” – they are meant to be followed to the letter, especially by the chair.
this is an unenlightened question. the real party is trailhead and not the gop. that’s why alan and jack were ordering hans and bob around on saturday.
I think the call for supporting the candidate selected by the vast majority of delegates is right on. Martinez points out that the two candidates are not very far apart on their conservative perspectives and values. We are not talking about the difference between a moderate, liberal or a conservative candidate. It makes sense to get behind the similar guy vs. picking a Junior High fight.
Don’t get me going on the whole paying people to gather signatures and the disingenuous strategy of Mark Holtzman. There is a principle of participating in “good faith” and he has repeatedly been a poor sport and bad loser when not getting his way. Let me point out again the ammo this is giving the Dems – they are laughing and running to it all the way to the bank.
Scott,
I beg to differ on a number of the points you made.
There is no difference between these two candidates?
There is a world of difference. BB has a unspectacular voting record and has sponsored no significant legislation. He is closely associated with corrupt congressman Tom Delay and has voted with the White House 98% of the time. This all equals electability to you. We have the opportunity to put the GOP back on track in Colorado, handing BB the governors office will just provide us with 4 more years of the same tired and failing agenda of more taxation more meaningless rhetoric and more favors, bribes and other scandals that are giving us a bad name.
MH is a world leader business and knows how to keep those tech sector jobs coming to Colorado. He has been the head of significantly large organizations, giving him the budget and damage control skills that we need in a chief executive. But more than that, MH can beat Bill Ritter, this is going to be a bad year for R’s and putting BB up to bat is not a winning strategy.
Bob Matinez IS conducting himself in accodance with the Bylaws. Since MH failed to get 30% of the vote he is not on the ballot. He will not be on the ballot until and unless he is successful with a petition. Therefore, he is officially not a candidate. Just saying he is going to be a candidate does not make it so. BM has the choice of sitting on his hands and waiting for an outcome or he can attempt to provide leadership in determining what is best for the party. Doing what he feels is best for the party is what he is there for.
What part about the above posts and the divisions already produced do the R’s arguing for the certain to be very ugly primary ahead not get? Do you not read this site enough to know how many people are loving this split right now?
That’s alright – I dont give money to Trailhead, either.
If Holtzman gets enough signatures to be put on the primary ballot, there will be a primary for Governor – and so, the party chair will have been in violation of the by-laws. The assembly vote meant nothing as far as this point goes. A candidate is only “unopposed” in the the primary election if no other candidate succeeded in making the ballot – and that process of making the ballot does not end with the announcement of the assembly vote totals. Martinez was too impatient and wrong.
Bob Martinez needs to be trusted on this. Bob is a true visionary leader who knows that even well-meaning party members are sometimes led astray. When these good people do stray, it is Bob’s duty to gently – but firmly – lead them back to the correct and proper path.
The reality is that it takes a lot of money to win an election. Since benefactors like Pete Coors and Bruce Benson are bankrolling efforts such as Trailhead – essential for the hard battles ahead, it’s just a case of the Golden Rule: he who has the gold makes the rules. The voices of these courageous benefactors and party elders simply carry more weight than a few activist Holtzman supporters making their first appearances at the State Assembly.
Holtzman and his supporters are in danger of looking like a GOP version of moveon.org.
Yeah, trust Bob. He has never failed us before. The party is doing great under his leadership. The massive gains we made in 2004 are nothing compared to what we will achieve this year.
Bob Martinez is only party chairman because he’ll be (is already) nothing more than a yes-man for Coors, Benson, Beauprez and millionaire lobbyist Steve Durham.
What Holtzman looks like or doesn’t look like isn’t really relevant in light of how totally corrupted the Republican Party has become.
Why else do you think we have total incompetents like Ed “Token” Jones, Keith “Kiss-Ass” King and Larry “Listless” Liston in office? And why is Bob “I have affairs on party money” Gardner unopposed for the party nomination to replace King?
Because they do whatever the backroom party bosses tell them to do.
Re: Elder’s Post
“Since benefactors like Pete Coors and Bruce Benson are bankrolling efforts such as Trailhead – essential for the hard battles ahead, it’s just a case of the Golden Rule: he who has the gold makes the rules.”
This attitude is why I quit the Republican Party. Pete Coors and Bruce Benson can go straight to hell. What good is it to gain political power, but lose your soul. I am beholden to no one-I don’t care how much of a benefactor they are. The moment a candidate takes those sons of bitches’ money-that candidate is tainted and corrupt. Checks that big always come with strings attached.
Elder-
What is it you have that Coors and Benson et al are willing to spend so much money to take from you.
FREEEEEDOM!!!!!!!
Go rent Braveheart and see what “Benefactors” do to those who value freedom.
Vote Libertarian. If every Republican sickened by both Holtzman and Beauprez voted Libertarian in November-the result would rock the nation. It’s not a wasted vote, it’s a cry in the wilderness.
They really need to change the name of “Trailhead.” When I hear or see it, I picture Monica Lewinsky backpacking….
[…] The Denver Post editorial board came out against GOP Chair Bob Martinez today for publicly calling onВ Marc Holtzman to withdraw from the governor’s race. Colorado Pols readers apparently agree, with nearly 70% voting that a state party chair should not get involved in a primary. […]
Sometimes the truth IS gross.
But that doesn’t make it any less the truth.
Bob “Frogface” Gardner, currently the Republican candidate to replace Keith King in the House, is an operative for the Trailhead Group in El Paso County. While he was party chairman (and maybe still), he had an ongoing extramarital affair with Sarah Jack (developers’ mouthpiece and also worker for Trailhead interests), even spending party money on trips and hotel rooms for their trysts.
This is a well-known example of the corruption running through the Republican Party in Colorado. There are more such, no doubt.
OMG…….there are extra-marital affairs going on in God’s Country (aka El Paso County)? There are extra marital affairs going on between Republicans in El Paso County? Does Dr. Dobson know about this? Or Will Perkins? Or some of the other homophobic bigots ranting about the sanctity of marriage?
Frogface is not the only one…..Ed Token Jones also has the same reputation for philandry, probably deservedly so.
And Token is being backed very strongly by the Trailhead group, even without primary or assembly opposition…….they’re already spending thousands of dollars on radio advertising for him to try and boost his image. (Of course, anyone who has checked knows that Token is just plain incompetent in the State Senate). And Frogface was his campaign manager last time out………the funnel for Trailhead money.