[dropcap]L[/dropcap]AST week we wrote on the four Republican candidate campaigns for governor competing to win a spot on the general election ballot. Primary ballots have already been mailed out for the June 24 election. The candidates are Mike Kopp, Tom Tancredo, Scott Gessler and Bob Beauprez. This is the last in the mobile-web-shareable shorthand versions we put together.
As reporter John Tomasic wrote about former Congressman Bob Beauprez, he’s the establishment figure in the race who touts his electability but who nevertheless has swerved far right in his views, like so many Republican politicians have done in the Obama years, making his case as the statesman who can appeal to the state’s less-partisan unaffiliated voters problematic. Beauprez is passionate about cutting taxes and fees. He says everyone he has met on the campaign trail asks him to help “get the boot of government off people’s necks.” It’s the kind of message that appeals to a certain kind of entrepreneur and wealthy person. But entrepreneurs and wealthy people make up a slim minority of the Colorado voter population. In a state with one of the lowest tax rates in the country, do meat packers, farm workers, house painters, furniture movers, office cubicle commuters and suburban moms looking to elect a governor really prioritize the conservative war against government interference?
Campaign finance reports out this week show Beauprez has the most cash on hand of the four candidates. He has a $116,000 to spend over the next two weeks to bring out the vote. (He loaned himself $100,000.) He also released a poll this week that shows him trailing Tancredo for the lead by 2 points, 27 percent to 25 percent.
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