Northern Colorado Gazette

Tancredo reaching out to all in gubernatorial race

Former Colorado congressman and American Constitution Party gubernatorial candidate Tom Tancredo

By Jim Frazier

“We will reach out to Democrats, Libertarians, Independents and Republicans for support,” American Constitution Party gubernatorial candidate Tom Tancredo told the Greeley Gazette recently. Tancredo will run for governor as a Constitution Party candidate.
Tancredo said the number of Republicans who will support his campaign for governor will depend on impacts of the primary won by Dan Maes and any subsequent changes to the ballot. Republicans do not need to certify the primary ballots until September 3, and changes might be made.
For example, in the event of a resignation by Maes, an entirely new candidate might enter the race as a write-in candidate. “Regardless of what happens, we think there will be a pretty substantial number of conservative Republicans who will support Tom Tancredo for governor regardless of who ends up as the Republican candidate,” said spokesperson, Leo Jankowski.
Tancredo believes he does not need all the Republican votes to win the gubernatorial race, but “certainly a substantial number.” For example, when Tancredo won his primary for the sixth Congressional seat, he received only 26% of the vote.
A recent poll shows that Tancredo and Maes would split the total vote in November at about 22-23 percent each. Hickenlooper would receive about 48% of the total defeating both Tancredo and Maes easily.
Both Tancredo and Maes have called for the other to drop out of the race so the votes will not be split.
Colorado’s large block of independent voters can shape all elections in the state. The total number of registered voters in Colorado as of August 1 is: 3,250,911. Of that total, Republicans and Democrats include only about two-thirds, or 2,136,705. Republicans lead by a small margin: 1, 069,238 to 1,067,467.
That leaves 1, 114,206 Colorado voters who are not registered as either Republicans or Democrats. This means that in Colorado more independents are registered than either Republicans or Democrats.
These independent voters are vital to Republicans like Tancredo and Maes because independents are now tending to support Republican values. Nationally, only 32 percent of independents say they want Democrats to keep control of the Congress, according to a recent Associated Press-GfK poll. In that poll, 9 of 10 independents cited the economy as their top issue. Also, in that poll, independents indicated they trust Republicans to handle the economy more than Democrats, 42-36 percent.
Though the results of that poll are national, the results indicate that a conservative in Colorado can attract independent voters by focusing on the economy.
Tancredo is confident about defeating Hickenlooper. “The only thing voters can rely on in a campaign is past performance, not current rhetoric– unless the two are not contradictory. In Mayor Hickenlooper’s case, his record and rhetoric don’t mesh. He is a tax and spend liberal.”
In comparison, Tancredo earned a 99% lifetime record with the Conservative Union. “Which candidate will people believe when they say they will create jobs and cut taxes?”
Tancredo is aware of ICLEI programs in Denver attacked by Dan Maes before the primary vote. “These are United Nations programs designed to push a green agenda. No big surprise there,” Tancredo said.

To see lists of registered voters in Colorado by county, party and gender go to:

http://www.elections.colorado.gov/Content/Documents/2010_registration_statistics/EOJuly/VotersByParty&Status.pdf

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