9NEWS political reporter Marshall Zelinger with a scoop via Twitter this afternoon that Republicans hoping against hope to retake the Colorado governor’s office in 2022 don’t want to hear:
NEW: Tiffany Coolidge, campaign manager for @heidiganahl, will be leaving the campaign at the end of the month.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Heidi Ganahl kicked off her campaign one month ago today. #copolitics
— Marshall Zelinger (@Marshall9News) October 14, 2021
Zelinger asks optimistically, but we suspect he already knows the answer:
Politicos: Is it common for a candidate’s campaign manager to leave one month after the campaign kicks off? Or to hire a campaign manager for just the first 1.5 months? #copolitics
— Marshall Zelinger (@Marshall9News) October 14, 2021
Help wanted.
The answer to that question is of course no, there is no realistic circumstance in which a campaign manager is hired with the expectation of only running the campaign for six weeks. Whether it’s the disastrous kickoff of Hiedi Heidi Ganahl’s campaign in mid-September, the used RV tour around largely depopulated areas of the state, complete lack of a coherent campaign message, or the lackluster fundraising numbers posted after months of legally dubious preparation, Democrats don’t have to embellish the story of Ganahl’s failure to launch–it has played out for everyone to see, and it was only a matter of time before somebody took the blame.
The real question is, was Ganahl’s failure to launch the campaign manager’s fault…or the candidate?
If it’s the latter, staff turnover will be a symptom not a cure. Either way, even Ganahl’s fiercest defenders should be troubled. There is no scenario in which this is a good sign.
I feel like we are watching the designated frontrunner implode in real time.
A frontrunner that cannot spell her own name. I try not to make judgements, but I think kindergarten was the last time I could not spell my name properly!
Heidi’s campaign reminds me of the suicide squad from the Judean People’s Front.
And these folks wonder why I haven’t voted Republican since 1980 something (we all had our misspent youths’)?
When, after six months of preparation and planning, your campaign high point is the country fried skillet meal in a Monument diner . . .
. . . Methinks Coolidge sleeps easily tonight, grateful knowing she’s all done with Sleidi?
Perhaps she is trying to demonstrate her Trumpiness — in his run for the 2016 nomination, Trump created a near-constant whirl of people at the upper levels of his campaign. Ballotpedia described it as "a series of disputes within the Trump campaign over who would direct the campaign's strategy and personnel decisions." There is a helpful 28-item timeline covering the 18-month campaign, with most covering campaign chairs, national political directors, and head of convention strategy.
Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign_staff_hiring_timeline,_2016
I have heard many people say that was all Ivanka operating behind the scenes at the highest level. Are you saying Ganahl is as smart as Ivanka?
If so, that's one hell of an endorsement. /s