•Biggest story of the day, via CompleteColorado, is this stunner in the Colorado Springs Gazette:
Foundering Republican gubernatorial hopeful Dan Maes says he met with rival Tom Tancredo for an hour Tuesday at an undisclosed location in Morrison.
Maes said he agreed to the meeting, but was not swayed into dropping out of the race, which Tancredo has called for repeatedly.
“We thought it would be best to discuss what would be best for the people of Colorado,” Maes said during a meeting Wednesday with The Gazette’s editorial board. Maes declined to discuss further what the meeting with Tancredo was about.
Tancredo discussed the encounter with 630KHOW, though a spokesman for Maes said the meeting was “totally unproductive.” On his Facebook page, Maes tersely responded to the day’s news: “One more time…I am not going anywhere!”
•The three gubernatorial candidates squared off in another debate Tuesday night:
In what has become a familiar pattern, third-party gubernatorial candidate Tom Tancredo threw some elbows at today’s Channel 7 debate while his major-party opponents kept their messages positive, for the most part.
Tancredo’s main target appeared to be Democratic Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, who he bashed on illegal immigration, union relations, taxes and education — calling the Denver school system both “horrible” and “almost criminal” at one point.
Hickenlooper, who has promised to avoid mudslinging this election cycle, said he expected the Tancredo attacks to continue on the airwaves, though that’s not what voters want to see.
“I can prepare you for those attack ads,” GOP candidate Dan Maes quipped, turning to Hickenlooper.
•Colorado GOP Chairman Dick Wadhams defends himself and the party from criticisms stemming from the debacle with Maes:
Wadhams calls criticism of the way he’s handled Maes’ candidacy “way off base.” He writes:
The Colorado Republican Party and I, personally, have come under severe criticism at times from those who think we’re not doing enough for Dan Maes and, conversely, others who demand we force him out of the race…
Dan Maes and his campaign have been afforded everything our Victory operation offers every other Republican candidate from U.S. Senator to state legislature. We do not fund campaigns, that is the responsibility of the candidates and their campaigns. Colorado Republicans invest all of our resources in the Victory operation which is critical to turning out voters who support Republican candidates.
I have also heard criticism that our nomination process for governor failed and that we should have “vetted” the candidates better and determined who was qualified to run and that I somehow allowed this three-way race to occur. Often these are the same voices who wailed about how party leaders should remain neutral and not intervene in the nomination process.