[dropcap]L[/dropcap]AST week we introduced you to each of the four candidates and campaigns in the June 24 Republican Party primary in the governor’s race: Mike Kopp, Tom Tancredo, Scott Gessler and Bob Beauprez. This week we’ll do the same for the speeches the candidates have been giving across the state in “On the digital stump.”
Tom Tancredo, former congressman and controversial anti-illegal immigration warrior, is for now the frontrunner and appears to be steaming toward victory in the four-man race. He has a solid base of support, gained over years as a conservative national figure. He is his own political brand. His opponents, on the other hand, are sharing the non-Tancredo vote. That is to say, they’re splitting the vote. As the Republican Party struggles with the changing population in the state — one that reflects changing national voting population, where women, youth and ethnic minority voters shape elections — the prospect of a Tancredo general election candidacy has party leaders at a loss. The conservative Colorado Springs Gazette wrote recently that a Tancredo general election candidacy would doom Republican candidates all down the ticket. Yet “the Tanc” charges on. That’s what he does. And that’s why his supporters love him.
