Technically, the Republican Governors Association doesn’t have a dog in the fight in the two recall elections in Colorado on September 10. But they know that a GOP win or two against state senators John Morse and Angela Giron would be an ominous indicator for incumbent Democratic governor John Hickenlooper.
So they’re shining a new spotlight on how Hickenlooper lost his way, governed much farther to the left than he campaigned, overreached, and now finds himself with dreary approval numbers:
Hickenlooper signed into law the new gun bills that have those state senators in trouble — new restrictions on magazine capacity, new taxes on firearms transfers (sales), and he supports a proposed $1 billion income-tax hike for additional school funding.
Interestingly, Hickenlooper has been rather quiet in his efforts to help Morse and Giron, only sending an e-mail on their behalf late last week:
It’s the first time the governor has actively campaigned for two Democratic Senators facing recall elections next week for their support of gun control measures that Hickenlooper signed into law this summer. And the email did not include the names of either Morse of Giron.
Hip surgery will sideline the governor for much of this week.