U.S. Rep. Bob Beauprez appears to be in the catbird seat now that the secretary of state has determined Marc Holtzman didn’t collect enough signatures to make the GOP gubernatorial ballot.
Holtzman has promised to challenge the ruling, and appeal it all the way to the Colorado Supreme Court if necessary. We don’t know that he has grounds for appeal, but that stage in this process will be wrapped up in a week’s time, so it shouldn’t have any real effect on the Republican campaign.
Holtzman’s exit would seem to be the perfect salve for what’s been ailing Beauprez, except that the verdict came on the same day that a prominent Republican said he couldn’t support Beauprez, crossed party lines and endorsed Democrat Bill Ritter.
The issue is Referendum C, the 2005 fiscal reform measure that won voter approval over Beauprez’s opposition. Defeat would have led to enormous reductions in higher education and other state programs.
Holtzman led the fight against C while Beauprez was a backbencher, and a primary duel would have pulled both candidates even further to the right, if that’s possible.
With Holtzman off the ballot, Beauprez no longer has to spend money upending an intra-party foe and can now focus on making his lieutenant governor choice and beginning his campaign against Ritter. Statehouse wags noted that Secretary of State Gigi Dennis stands to benefit from Beauprez’ good luck – she’s long been rumored to be at the top of his list for a running mate.
Of course Holtzman’s disappearance, if that’s what it is, also means it’s time for Beauprez to stand on his own record, and that has even some Republicans thinking twice. Not only was Beauprez wrong on C, he recently went futher in the wrong direction, supporting the Independence Institute’s ill-advised plan to basically roll back the voters’ intentions on fiscal reform. Beauprez was the first (!) to sign a petition for the new anti-C plan. If passed, it would cripple any hopes the new governor might have of rebuilding Colorado’s transportation network and higher education system.
“I’ve withdrawn my support for Bob Beauprez and am supporting Bill Ritter,” said former GOP state Rep. Bill Kaufman. “(Beauprez) is 100 percent wrong on this issue. It’s big enough to affect votes for him.”
Beauprez’s opposition to C, which allowed the state to keep millions in revenue that otherwise would have been refunded, was quiet enough during the campaign that it didn’t rankle the business leaders who pushed its approval. But for some, this ridiculous rollback idea just pushes it too far.
