December 17, 2008 06:05 PM UTC

McInnis Recalculates After Salazar Appointment

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• by: Colorado Pols

As the Glenwood Springs Post-Independent reports:

Former GOP Congressman Scott McInnis was mum about his political future on Tuesday in the wake of reports that U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., is expected to become the next Interior secretary…

McInnis, a former congressman, said that the Ritter appointee can expect a competitive race from a Republican candidate in 2010. He added Salazar’s seat would have been competitive for Republicans to challenge in 2010 even if he didn’t become Interior secretary.

McInnis had been considered a leading Republican contender for the U.S. Senate seat that fellow Republican Wayne Allard gave up when he retired this year. But McInnis dropped out of the race in March 2007, and Democrat Mark Udall later beat former Republican Congressman Bob Schaffer by a significant margin in November.

In the days before the election, McInnis told the Colorado Independent that he “would have beat Udall” and that he “has more difficulties with the right-wing” of his party than he did with taking on a Democrat…

A poll follows–will Salazar’s exit give Scott McInnis a chance to triumph over the hard-right bridge trolls who punked him for Bob Schaffer? We say this all sounds interesting, but McInnis is personally damaged goods. Watch this story arc closely in the coming months regardless–McInnis, for all his warts, may still be a preferable Republican contender to the usual washed-up suspects. But McInnis floats his name for anything – he even floated his name for Mesa County Sheriff recently – so we don’t believe a word of what he says until he actually pulls the trigger and makes the jump.

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