Fellow RMAer Michael writes: The [Holtzman] campaign always seemed a bit . . .Quixotic . . . in nature. Marc has never held elected office, and other than among D.U. alums, is not exactly a household name in Colorado. And while there is a certain charm to the underdog, there is also something sad about refusing to notice reality, and something potentially very harmful to continuing this campaign. However, I still believe Marc Holtzman has a lot to offer Colorado. He should start working within the Party to implement some of his ideas about youth movement, and to fundraise and oherwise assist GOP candidates to take back the state legislature, which could do a lot to move his fiscal ideas forward. He could build his name and reputation, … [Read more...]

It's time for Colorado Republicans to put the bungling behind them and unite behind Bob Beauprez. Holtzman came up 743 signatures short (despite the Denver Post's faulty math) - though there's sure to be a recount in the coming days. The Secretary of State certifies the primary ballot by next Friday. What do I mean by "bungling"? First and most obvious, the Holtzman campaign's ground game. Expecting more than 40% at the State Assembly, they were shocked to find out they only got 28% and didn't make the ballot that way. More recently, Holtzman's team turned in 21,000 petition signatures but had a high rate of rejection. It would appear the names or signatures were not given careful scrutiny - a big no-no. Second, and to a lesser … [Read more...]

Two breaking news stories this afternoon for a quick read: Associated Press, "Colorado Candidate Fined for Illegal Ads" Rocky Mountain News, "Holtzman Not on Ballot" For Marc Holtzman, this would have to qualify for the classic definition of "bad day." The latter article suggests a serious disagreement about the judgment that the gubernatorial candidate didn't have enough signatuers on his petitions to qualify him for the November election. While he turned in 21,000 signatures (expecting a certain margin of invalid markings, of course), keep in mind that candidates for statewide office have to gather 1,500 Republican registered voter signatures from each Congressional district, and the Denver Democrat stronghold of the 1st CD … [Read more...]

The Colorado Secretary of State's office has validated Senate District 22 Republican candidate Justin Everett's petition signatures, with an astonishingly high certification rate - 1,297 of 1,354 submitted signatures were accepted, or 95.8% (compared to about 80 percent for rival Kiki Traylor)! One big reason for that is Justin personally acquired more than half the signatures himself by going door-to-door to meet voters: truly grassroots! Here is an excerpt from his official announcement: After speaking with voters in our district, it was clear that our message of immigration reform, improving the educational opportunities for our children and practicing true fiscal responsibility represents the opinions of our community. Now we’re … [Read more...]

In the Denver Post story this morning highlighting Marc Holtzman's submission of 21,000 petitions (he needs 1,500 from each of Colorado's 7 Congressional districts to be verified by the Secretary of State's office) to get on the gubernatorial primary ballot: The former University of Denver president was assisted by Denver lawyer Mark Grueskin, a Democrat who has a history of representing Democratic candidates and causes. "I don't like it when party bosses tell people not to run," Grueskin said. "It rubs me the wrong way." Grueskin, eh? Strangely not the first time this character has been mentioned on my site. Perhaps you remember the case of the teachers union caught in cahoots with a state Senate Democrat's 2004 campaign? In the … [Read more...]

Following the lead of state party chairman Bob Martinez, 31 sitting Republican state legislators and 9 Republican candidates for state legislative office sent a letter today to Marc Holtzman asking him for the sake of party unity (about which he spoke eloquently at the Assembly) to withdraw from the race. While these kind of things don't happen every day, at least Republican leaders from Routt County agree. And so does a first-time delegate from Boulder County, who has brought up an excellent point about the Holtzman campaign's earlier spin, which frankly disappoints me to see in retrospect: Holtzman estimated that more than 2,500 Holtzman delegates were elected to state and county assemblies in the statewide caucus proceedings … [Read more...]

A Republican friend passed along an account of yesterday's Republican Assembly through the eyes of a very insightful and well-spoken young attendee. Read below to see the report of 11-year-old Elizabeth Armstrong, daughter of delegate Wil Armstrong and granddaughter of former Senator Bill Armstrong. It's a refreshing view, less cynical than most political writing these days, and very encouraging to see younger people with intelligent observations about the great democratic process of one of the major political parties. And you surely will find some details in her account of Saturday's goings-on not included in any newspaper or other blog. Quite thorough. Perhaps some day she will have a political blog of her own. Here are her … [Read more...]