April 13, 2009 08:56 PM UTC

BREAKING: Marc Holtzman Won't Run for Governor

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• by: Colorado Pols

Republican Marc Holtzman told friends and supporters over the weekend that he would not run for governor in 2010 after all.

Holtzman had been widely expected among Republicans to formally enter the race for governor this summer. He had strong support from heavy-hitters in the business community, and would likely have had the full backing of folks such as Larry Mizel and Mike Fries. Business community leaders who wanted to see a businessman run for governor will be left looking elsewhere now, since both Scott McInnis and Josh Penry are lawyer/lobbyists and career politicians, respectively.

So why did Holtzman, who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2006, decide against a run in 2010? Holtzman works in International banking and development, and he told friends that he could not in good conscience pull out of his many business responsibilities given the current economic crisis.

Of course, it’s probably not a good year to run for higher office with banking and/or finance in your title, either, but those close to Holtzman say the perception problem wasn’t what pushed him out of the race (and neither was a potential primary with McInnis and/or Penry, since Holtzman would have raised the most money of the three).