Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez kicked off his final tour across the state Thursday, hoping to energize the party faithful and get GOP voters to the polls.
“John Elway told me, ‘The score only counts at the end of the fourth quarter.’ The clock’s ticking, folks. The fourth quarter’s coming to an end. And we’ve got to close this out in style,” Beauprez told Republicans during a breakfast in Larimer County.
Meanwhile, Bill Ritter’s campaign rolled into rock-solid Republican territory on Colorado’s Eastern Plains, encountering a few bumps along the way.
In Fort Morgan, Republican Mayor Jack Dornell backed out of a planned early-morning public endorsement of the Democrat. Instead of Dornell, Democratic Sheriff Jim Crone introduced Ritter to the 40 people gathered in the city park.
In Brush, the coffee klatch at the Rising Sun Bakery challenged Ritter’s positions on gun control, with 70-year-old Don Specht aggressively questioning the former Denver district attorney’s supports for limits on permits for concealed weapons.
Ritter explained that Denver’s gang problem compelled him to support tougher gun rules that could be used to crack down on criminals. Specht, who already voted for Beauprez, gave Ritter credit for facing his questions, even if he didn’t agree.
In Sterling, Ritter flubbed his support of a ballot measure raising the minimum wage. During a question- and-answer session with about 110 residents and students at Northeastern Junior College, Ritter said he was against Amendment 42 – accidentally and temporarily reversing his position – until running mate Barbara O’Brien whispered, “I think we’re for it.”
Ritter staffers attributed the mistake to road weariness. During the past week, Ritter had stopped more than 40 times at rallies, honk-and- waves, restaurants, living rooms and other venues, meeting with more than 1,000 voters along the way.
“I won’t write off any of these places,” Ritter said. “I believe every place, every person matters.”
His campaign visited all 64 Colorado counties by Labor Day and has returned to more than half since then. He says he’s getting about five hours of sleep a night.
On the latest tour, Ritter has not shied away from tough territory, but he has let O’Brien handle some radio interviews so that he can rest his raspy voice.
Ritter drew scores of supporters at most stops. In Paoli, population 29, more than 50 people crowded into the small town hall. In Wray, 25 people waited as the Ritter bus rolled in about an hour late.
In the Old Tyme Country Store in Brush, Jon Erickson rushed up to Ritter and handed him a pen.
“Bob Beauprez’s campaign said we need to put a veto pen on the first floor of the Capitol in Denver,” Erickson said. “Here’s a pen you can use to sign bills with.”
Beauprez, who has done less traveling in the past two weeks despite lagging poll numbers, was joined by a phalanx of prominent Republicans during stops in Fort Collins, Greeley, Denver, Colorado Springs, Pueblo and Woodland Park. Among those joining Beauprez and running mate Janet Rowland were Gov. Bill Owens, Lt. Gov. Jane Norton, U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard, U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave and state Treasurer Mike Coffman.
Beauprez slammed the “supposed pro-life” stance of Ritter, who supports fully funding Planned Parenthood emergency contraception, and abortion exceptions for rape, incest, life of the mother and fetal anomalies.
He also knocked what he characterized as Ritter’s “plan to have a plan to develop a plan” on issues such as health care and transportation.
“This is exactly Democrats’ campaign strategy to say and do nothing and trust that the voters are dumb enough to elect people who say and do nothing. Well, I don’t think the voters are going to be that dumb,” Beauprez said.
In Greeley, he also called recent controversial comments by Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., “shameless” and demonstrated what Beauprez called “a disdain for our military, a disdain really for America that has permeated that other party.”
On the road, Beauprez was upbeat, saying the base has caught fire in the past few weeks as demonstrated by the increased attention he’s getting on the streets.
“Call me nuts, but I’ve actually enjoyed this campaign,” he said. “We’re going to win Tuesday night.”
