Governor

Speculation surrounding Bill Ritter’s surprise withdrawal from the governor’s race last week included concerns that he was having difficulty raising cash. His campaign Friday released figures for the fourth quarter and they were impressive. He raised roughly $572,000– about $100,000 more than did GOP frontrunner Scott McInnis.

DENVER– Mile High NORML boardmember Miguel Lopez introduces pro-pot attorney Robert Corry at Thursday’s medical marijuana rally across the street from the capitol’s west steps. Lopez, who organized the event and delivered its opening speech in a trench coat and pot-leaf earrings, made a low-key announcement that he will be challenging Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper in the Democratic Party gubernatorial primary.

In a moment that recalls Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry kicking off his gubernatorial campaign by declaring he would have rejected federal stimulus funds even as the state budget was tanking, we have GOP Texas Gov. Rick Perry, in a primary race, saying the whole TARP bailout program was a bad idea. What would he [...]

Former U.S. Congressman, onetime one-issue firebrand anti-illegal immigration presidential candidate, Justice Sonia Sotomayor hater, controversial radio talk show host, provocative and excitable cable-news guest Tom Tancredo is planning to run for governor in the wake of state Sen. Josh Penry’s sudden badly managed withdrawal from the race. Tancredo’s supporters are excited to have a conservative [...]

Bloggers at Colorado Pols today speculated that former U.S. Congressman Tom Tancredo had filed exploratory committee papers for the 2010 gubernatorial campaign. In the end it wasn’t true. But in the wake of state Sen. Josh Penry’s withdrawal, Tancredo reports he is in fact preparing to take the plunge and race against fellow Republican McInnis, [...]

Senate Minority Leader and candidate for governor Josh Penry addressed the Republican National Hispanic Assembly of Colorado Thursday in Denver. He said the GOP was “in the wilderness” for a reason: in his opinion, for doubling the national debt. Penry, though, seemed in the wilderness on how exactly to court the Latino vote as a [...]

State Sen. Penry announced his candidacy for governor to absolutely no one’s surprise Saturday. His campaign website is now live and includes video clips among the material that will help readers “learn more about Josh.” The campaign could have simply posted a tape of Penry declaring his candidacy. It chose instead to feature an interview [...]

WASHINGTON — Debbie Joslin wasn’t happy to see Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin announce her resignation. “I was disappointed that she wouldn’t be governor anymore,” the president of the Alaska branch of the conservative Eagle Forum and a longtime Republican activist said in an interview. “It’s hard to get things done now because of the 10-10 split between the parties in the State Senate. What she did was out of the box, and anybody else would be politically dead.”

As some question Palin’s decision, anti-abortion activists, who embraced Palin after the birth of Trig and after the unmarried pregnancy of Palin’s daughter Bristol, are ecstatic about the possibility that Palin, freed from the duties and turmoils of office, could become a historic leader and spokeswoman for their cause.

It is too soon to proclaim Bill Ritter Colorado’s Teflon governor. But it is safe to say that his Republican opposition has yet to find a way to truly hurt him politically.

“He’s in a place where he’s not been nicked,” said pollster and political analyst Rick Ridder.

Ridder’s firm, RBI Strategies & Research, surveyed 500 likely [...]

Fighting Pres. Bush’s proposed budget cuts to Golden’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is one of Gov. Ritter’s top priorities today at the National Governors Association meeting.

The Rocky Mountain News has the story: