Tancredo bid may shift Markey's race
By: Kasie Hunt
July 28, 2010 11:34 AM EDT
Former Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo’s rogue bid for governor, already
imperiling the GOP’s shot at the state’s top office, could also dim
Republican prospects for knocking off first-term Democratic Rep.
Betsy Markey in the 4th Congressional District.
That’s because Tancredo’s running on the ticket of the conservative
American Constitution Party — a minor third-party ballot line that
happens to include a candidate, Doug Aden, running in Markey’s
district. A statewide campaign that draws attention to Aden’s party
might give him the kind of lift that would make him a spoiler for
Republican state Rep. Cory Gardner’s campaign.
If Tancredo can raise enough money to advertise on television, his
message is virtually certain to reach Markey’s Fort Collins-area
district, which includes part of the Denver media market. And
Republicans worry that Tancredo’s bombastic political style could
also shape the campaign debate in a manner that alienates moderate
swing voters across party lines.
“Not only is it making a mess of the governor’s race, he also,
through his extreme comments like ‘let’s bomb Mecca,’ has the
possibility to cause consternation for Republican candidates in
other races ... It could cause the Republican candidates to be drawn
into those discussions,” Republican Party Chair Dick Wadhams
said. “The 4th Congressional District is one that it could really
affect.”
Markey won the district in 2008 with 56 percent of the vote as
Barack Obama became the first Democrat to carry Colorado since 1992.
Third-party candidates have gained traction in the 4th before:
Republican Rep. Marilyn Musgrave was reelected with 45 percent of
the vote in 2006, with centrist independent Eric Eidsness taking 11
percent. Markey defeated Musgrave in 2008.
This year, Aden, a white-bearded farmer, is billing himself as
the "citizen candidate" in the race. He comes from a very different
ideological background than Eidsness, and Aden's website links to a
30-minute YouTube video produced by The John Birch Society. It also
features Aden's "favorite story of all time," about how frontiersman
Davy Crockett opposed giving public money to a naval officer's
widow.
But Tancredo disputes the notion that he’ll draw — or push — voters
away from the GOP in down-ballot races, countering that his bid
could increase conservative turnout across the board.
“My being on the ballot, even the third-party capacity, will get
more conservatives out than ever before, and they’ll vote Republican
down-ticket. And it will have a heck of a lot more of them out than
if the [governor’s] ticket was either Mr. McInnis or Mr. Maes,”
Tancredo told POLITICO, referring to GOP gubernatorial candidates
Scott McInnis and Dan Maes.
Tancredo has already endorsed Gardner in the race against Markey and
says he’ll stick with that decision “unless [Gardner] wants to throw
it in the trash.” Gardner’s campaign would not say whether the state
legislator plans to reject Tancredo’s backing now that he has left
the GOP.
“Since Day One, we’ve built a grass-roots campaign capable of
defeating anyone on the ballot; there’s three other people on the
ballot and we intend to beat all of them,” said Chris Hansen,
Gardner’s campaign manager.
