February 27, 2009 08:04 PM UTC

BREAKING: Wadhams Will Be Challenged After All

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• by: Colorado Pols

A message just sent out to conservative activists:

Subject: “Save Our State” sent you a message on Facebook…

Tom Stone sent a message to the members of Save Our State.

——————–

Subject: An opportunity to serve

I have officially announced today that I am running to be the Chairman of the Colorado Republican Party.  My interest in Saving Our State is sincere.  During these turbulent times we must all put our shoulders to the wheel and put our talents to their best use.

Thank you for your support.

Tom C. Stone

http://tomcstone.com

This is for real, folks–Tom Stone is a former Eagle County commissioner and, though less-known than some other candidates whose names surfaced a few months ago, can certainly be considered a credible challenge to current chair Dick Wadhams. That being the case, it’s a major development–our first thought is that the last few weeks of disastrous message management by GOP leadership may have shifted the dynamic, where Wadhams had previously more or less suppressed his critics.

UPDATE: From the Vail Daily this afternoon:

Former Eagle County, Colorado Commissioner Tom Stone announced Friday he will run for the state Republican Party Chair.

“I’ve been very alarmed and concerned about the path that Colorado has been on for the last three cycles – that Republicans have continued to lose people in representation throughout the state,” Stone, of Gypsum, said. [Pols emphasis]

Stone has been a real estate broker for the last 32 years, except for the eight year period he served as a commissioner from 1998 to 2006.

He and his wife, Henri, have lived in Eagle County for the last 25 years.