Last night retiring Republican state senator Dave Schultheis — one of the conservative stalwarts under the Golden Dome — announced that he is withdrawing support from Dan Maes and backing Tom Tancredo for governor:
Much is at stake in this election, including the appointment of Supreme Court justices who will honor the law, decennial redistricting of State legislative boundaries, stopping the union takeover of state jobs, reducing the serious and negative effect of illegal immigration, the potential of modifying state statutes to allow the Republican Party to regain its majority status should it get less than 10% of the total gubernatorial votes, and much, much more. Furthermore, should Hickenlooper win, Colorado will become a far more progressive state than it has already become over the past decade. That must not be allowed that to happen.
I realize that by removing my endorsement from Dan Maes that I am also disappointing many strong conservative supporters who have applauded me for standing not just for Dan, but for the election process which I hold dear. Those who have worked so diligently for the conservative cause under the Republican banner will have the most trouble with my decision, as I have always advocated that the process must be honored because in the long-run, lack of adhering to process causes confusion, lack of commitment and frustration. Unfortunately, that process has been trashed in this election cycle. That saddens me greatly.
That said…the choice is now between Hickenlooper and Tancredo. Hickenlooper must be defeated. Therefore, I will be voting for Tom Tancredo as Colorado’s next Governor.
As a result, precisely zero of the 41 members of the Republican state legislative caucus now are backing the Republican nominee for governor. All or nearly all are supporting the only credible conservative with a chance to defeat John Hickenlooper. Last week state senator Kevin Lundberg — who nominated Maes at the state assembly in May — withdrew his support and announced he was backing Tancredo.
Senator Schultheis wanted to support Dan Maes for the reasons he stated. But he realized the stark reality of the situation and made an apparently difficult decision based on his devotion to the conservative cause. He deserves credit for the decision and the announcement. Hopefully, other conservative voters on the fence or leaning toward Maes are paying attention.
Dan Maes still lists both Lundberg and Schultheis as supporters, but I’m sure he’ll get around to updating the webpage soon. With no state legislators in his corner, that leaves Englewood city councilman Rick Gillit and Rocky Ford mayor Mac Holder as the only two current elected officials standing aboard the sinking ship of the Maes campaign (unless one or both also has withdrawn their support, and it doesn’t show up on the page).
It’s amazing to see how quickly, deeply and broadly the reality has sunk in that the Colorado governor’s showdown is a two-way race between liberal John Hickenlooper and conservative Tom Tancredo.
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