As of today, the American Constitution Party has no candidate for governor in Colorado. Original nominee Ben Goss filed a notice to withdraw from the race with the Colorado Secretary of State’s office yesterday and the party has yet to designate someone to take his place.
Former United States Congressman Tom Tancredo has announced that he will be that nominee, but the votes of the party’s executive committee have not been officially registered.
Normally, to run for state-wide office in Colorado, a person has to have been registered to vote as a member of the party he is representing since no later than January 1 of the year in which he is running. In the case of a vacancy, however, no such rules apply.
Rich Coolidge, director of communications for the Colorado Secretary of State, says “party bylaws trump state law when there is a vacancy.” He says the executive committee of the American Constitution Party will have to vote by two-thirds majority to designate a replacement for the candidate who withdraws from the race.
Now that Goss has withdrawn, it is up to the party to designate a replacement and to notify the Secretary of State’s office of the designation. The Secretary of State also must receive notice of acceptance by whomever the party designates to replace Goss, in this case very likely Tancredo.
Party officials did not return a call today. A spokesperson for Tancredo said she expects the paperwork naming Tancredo as the American Constitution Party candidate for governor to be filed tomorrow.
According to reports, the Tank visited the secretary of state’s office Wednesday to file an affidavit of candidacy.
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