A few weeks ago, Colorado Republicans were beside themselves about having no candidate to oppose Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper in next year's election.
But in the last few days, all that has changed.
After toying with resurrecting his political career in adopted state Colorado with a bid for governor, former Cranston, R.I. Mayor and 2006 US Senate candidate Steve Laffey announced on Friday he will keep out of the race after all.
But as Laffey took his hat out of the ring, former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo entered the GOP race.
Tancredo, best known for his staunch opposition to immigration, ran for governor on the Constitution Party ticket in 2010 after the GOP nominee Dan Maes was brought down when discrepancies were discovered in his resume. He scored a respectable 36 percent of the vote to come in second as the Republican vote collapsed.
Tancredo made his decision to run after Hickenlooper granted convicted quadruple-killer Nathan Dunlap a temporary reprieve from execution. "This Dunlap thing is the last straw," he said.
But Tancredo, who sat in the House for 10 years after winning election in 1999, may not have a clear run at Hickenlooper. Fellow Republican Scott Gessler says he will decide within a week whether to run for governor or to seek a second term as secretary of state.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax.
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