June 01, 2016 05:05 PM UTC

GOP Candidates Kick Keyser Over "Lifelong Republican" Claims

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• by: Colorado Pols

It’s safe to say that the last month has not been kind to Republican Senate candidate Jon Keyser. With his campaign already reeling from from allegations of petition fraud, Keyser is now taking a beating from his fellow Republican Senate candidates over a false claim that he is a “lifelong Republican.”

As Ernest Luning reports for the Colorado Statesman:

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jon Keyser’s primary opponents on Wednesday tore into the former state lawmaker — some more gently than others — after it emerged that Keyser had changed his voter registration to unaffiliated for two years despite boasting that he was “a lifelong Republican” at a recent debate…

…“It’s unfortunate Jon hasn’t been honest with the Republican voters of Colorado,” [Ryan] Frazier told The Statesman. “It’s clear that Jon is in no position to criticize others in the race for not being conservative enough, or a Republican long enough. It’s sad to see someone with such a bright future continuously self destruct by his own words and actions.”… [Pols emphasis]

…“It comes down to a bigger issue, which is an issue of integrity,” Glenn’s communications director, Jillian Likness, told The Statesman on Wednesday. “When asked a question, such as how long have you been a Republican, while it may be semantics, it certainly speaks to an integrity issue, and we owe the voters of Colorado the candidate with the integrity and a track record of doing the right thing and standing up for the right thing and backing it up with experience.”

She added, “When you promise to do something, or pledge to do something, there should be support there. And if the evidence isn’t there, it speaks to credibility.”

The Blaha campaign got in a humorous dig at two candidates with one remark.

“Jon was not a Republican for two years,” a Blaha campaign spokesman told The Statesman. “That’s longer than Jack has been one. So put them together, and you almost have a lifelong Republican.”

Graham’s campaign manager, Dick Wadhams, kept it brief.

“Poor Jon’s had several tough weeks, and I’m just not going to pile on,” he said. [Pols emphasis]

Try to look on the bright side, Jon: You’ve only got four more weeks of this before you can slide back into obscurity.