George Brauchler has made a decision about running for U.S. Senate. Thing is, he’s waiting until early October to reveal what he has decided.
“I’d like to be more direct. I would. But I know there are ramifications for making certain announcements — ramifications that affect my office, my family and others. And I don’t want to make a pre-announcement announcement,” he told The Colorado Independent late Wednesday.
A few minutes later, Brauchler apologized for his lack of directness.
“I’m sorry for sounding so not like me right now,” he said.
Then, minutes after that, he followed up with a text message apologizing again.
“I’m sorry I seemed so measured in answering before. I’d rather just talk like we normally do. Talk to you soon :)”
It can be risky surmising what politicians are saying between the lines. And Brauchler — who’s in his first term in elected office, as the 18th Judicial District Attorney, and made a name for himself seeking the death penalty against Aurora theater shooter James Holmes, albeit unsuccessfully — fancies himself the kind of politician who means what he says and doesn’t leave a lot of room for ambiguity.
But the clock is ticking. And, with less than a year before our square state’s GOP primary for U.S. Senate and about 13 months before the general election, the time is right for a certain level of conjecture.
So here goes…
Brauchler sounds like a guy who’s about to run for Senate, or at least a guy who will enjoy another few weeks of public guessing.
“I talk to people every day about it. People that recognize me from the trial come up to me at Starbucks, the gas station, and my kid’s track meet last Friday and say ‘Thank you. I really appreciate what you tried to do and I hope you run’,” he said. “I still see me as me. But these other people, … they see me as something else.”
So far, senior Sen. Michael Bennet, a Democrat with access to a sizable re-election war chest, has no challenger formally vying to unseat him. State Sen. Tim Neville, a far-right conservative, is eyeing a bid. Attorney General Cynthia Coffman backed out of a possible candidacy after her involvement in an inner-GOP apparent blackmail scandal trashed her political prospects.
The Republican bench is narrow. That leaves Brauchler — a relative newcomer who’s being courted for a bid by GOP brass in Colorado and DC. He obviously feels he can afford to take his time considering his political future now that the Holmes trial ended in August.
Brauchler had said he’d have a decision by early this month. Asked why he’s postponing a public announcement until next month, he said, “I don’t want to do it unprepared.”
“I know what I’m doing. I’m pretty resolved as for what I’m going to do,” he continued. “Early October, mark my words — I’m gonna put the guessing to rest.”
Photo credit: Frankieleon, Creative Commons, Flickr.
[…] Brauchler will make an announcement in early October about whether he will enter the race. But it’s looking more and more likely he will make the move, coming out on conservative talk radio in recent days to blast Bennet for his Iran vote and hinting at a run other interviews. […]