Electability became a key issue in the primary as some in the GOP feared that Tancredo’s name on the November ticket would kill their shot at the governor’s mansion — and even worse, cause problems for other Republicans on the ballot.
“Any one of the other three would be strong challengers to Gov. Hickenlooper,” said former GOP state Chairman Dick Wadhams, a longtime critic of Tancredo’s. He added, in an interview before results came in, “There’s no doubt in my mind that if Tancredo is nominated for governor, his long, inflammatory and reckless record of alienating Hispanics and women will come back to haunt not only his chances in the governor’s race, but would also hurt all the Republican candidates.”
Beauprez was elected to Congress in 2002, where he served two terms before running for governor in 2006 — and lost by double digits. But he has emphasized in interviews the lessons he learned from that race, and has painted himself as a business-minded Second Amendment champion who opposes Obamacare.
