Attorney General Cynthia Coffman has said she’s not running for the U.S. Senate. So has U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton.
Colorado’s newest attorney general, Cynthia Coffman, holds her hands in the air with her husband, U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, as she prepares to give her acceptance speech in 2014. ( By Helen H. Richardson/ The Denver Post)
So why did I include them in a recent story about Republicans trying to find someone in the 2016 Senate race?
As I explained to Coffman, you might be saying you’re not running but other people keep bringing up your names. That’s why I’m putting you and others on the list.
Let’s not forget, Republican U.S. Rep. Cory Gardner initially said he wasn’t interested in running for the U.S. Senate. Then he changed his mind and decided to challenge U.S. Sen. Mark Udall, a Democrat, in November.
printed an interview with Coffman on Thursday saying she wasn’t running for the U.S. Senate, critics said she timed the story to try to overshadow the drama this week of .
Colleague Brandon Rittiman at 9News called to confirm Coffman’s contention that before the aborted palace coup she already told the media, including me, she wasn’t running. True? he asked. True, I said. And Coffman said she told Bennet’s deputy of staff in early May she wasn’t running and told her staff earlier this month don’t attach any significance to reports I’m looking at the race because I’m not.
So why hadn’t I written the story?
Several reasons. Quite frankly, national Republicans were wooing her husband, U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, not her.
And Cynthia Coffman just took office in January, so the likelihood of running in 2016 seemed slim. She told various GOP friends she wasn’t interested and they had relayed that information to me. And most politicos think she’s got her eye on running for governor in 2018, although when asked about the governor’s race she always says she’s focused on her job as attorney general.
That’s why I didn’t jump on it. I thought I’d get back to it at some point, maybe even this week, and check again with names on the list. I broke the story about AG Coffman confronting House and demanding his resignation because she and others had “grave concerns” about his leadership. The soap opera, which also includes former Congressman Tom Tancredo and Pueblo County GOP chair Becky Mizel, has captivated in Colorado and in the country.
