July 20, 2009 08:12 PM UTC

J.J. Walker Ament Stapleton

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• by: Colorado Pols

Republican J.J. Ament is reportedly set to announce his run for State Treasurer today and has already filed his paperwork with the Secretary of State. We’re a little surprised by this, since Walker Roberts Stapleton is already in the race and just reported raising a ton of money in the second quarter period.

We’re also a little confused about how Ament and Stapleton plan to differentiate themselves among the voters. Both are wealthy right-wing Republicans who kind of look alike and will each raise a lot of money (Stapleton is the one on the left).

Stapleton is sort of the new guard of the GOP but is heavily backed by the Independence Institute and is as right-wing as they come. While Ament is also solidly right-wing, he comes from a more old-school GOP family. Think of Stapleton as the Marc Holtzman to Ament’s Bob Beauprez, and you’ll get some idea of the inter-party dynamic playing out here.

If Muhammad Ali Hasan does not enter the race as well, and it’s probably unlikely at this point, this is a tough race to call. Neither Stapleton nor Ament are particularly interesting candidates, although we might give a slight edge to Stapleton because Ament is a banker (and these are not good times to be called a “banker”).

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