Freudian or Not? Schaffer Lists Wadhams as Thune Manager

Everyone knows that GOP uber-strategist Dick Wadhams is back in Colorado heading up the Colorardo Republican Party. Or we thought they did.

Here’s a nugget from U.S. Senate candidate Bob Schaffer’s July filing: It lists Wadhams as manager for the John Thune for U.S. Senate campaign.

More after the jump…

As most observers know, the Wadhams-managed Thune upset of then-Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle in South Dakota was a couple of cycles ago, in 2004. Wadhams then moved on to a rare loss as manager of Virginia Sen. George Allen’s campaign, which derailed when Allen used the term “macaca” to refer to one of his opponent’s campaign workers.

Walt Klein, a spokesman for the Schaffer campaign, attributes Wadhams’ job listing to a database mixup that will be corrected:

“Somebody just missed that his occupation had changed.”

Of course, Wadhams could return to the Thune camp, where the senator will be up for reelection in 2010. We’d ask the GOP executive director, but we’re still waiting for him to return the four messages we’ve left on his voicemail in recent days. (Or e-mail sfish@coloradoconfidential.com, Dick!). Of course, 2010, is the year Wadhams has high expectations for Colorado Republicans, so maybe Thune is out of the question?

For the record, Wadhams kicked in $250 to the Schaffer camp, the same amount as former Gov. Bill Owens.

That may not seem like big spending, but it would tend to bode well for a lack of primary opponent for Schaffer. In 2004, Owens backed Pete Coors over Schaffer in the GOP primary for an open U.S. Senate seat. Coors eventually lost to then-Attorney General Ken Salazar, a Democrat whom the GOP would love to target in 2010.

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