STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo.—Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is making a Colorado endorsement for the first time this campaign season.
The former Alaska governor is backing Steamboat Springs Republican Bob McConnell, who is in a GOP primary with state Rep. Scott Tipton. The winner will challenge Democratic U.S. Rep. John Salazar.
On her Facebook page, Palin called McConnell the best choice to replace Salazar in Congress.
“Bob knows that in times like these ordinary citizens must be bold and take a stand to return our country back to our constitutional roots of limited and fiscally responsible government,” she wrote.
Palin pointed out that she and Sen. John McCain won in Colorado’s 3rd District in 2008. Palin said McConnell would try to undo the health care overhaul, which she called the “mother of all unfunded mandates.”
Palin didn’t mention Tipton, a Republican state lawmaker from Cortez who lost to Salazar in 2008 and is seeking a rematch.
McConnell’s wife told The Denver Post that she hustled to get Palin’s endorsement.
“I made it my purpose to get Sarah Palin’s attention,” said McConnell’s wife and spokeswoman, Phyllis Coletta. “I had to bang on doors. It was just pure tenacity.”
The McConnell endorsement was Palin’s first in Colorado this campaign season. She hasn’t announced a favorite in hotly contested Republican primaries for Senate and governor. In the other House seat from Colorado that Palin has targeted for a GOP pickup, state Rep. Cory Gardner has no primary opposition in his bid to unseat Democratic Rep. Betsy Markey.
———
Online:
Read the endorsement:
