Redstate

Self-funding candidate, I hope.  There's no such thing as too much money.

Holtzman has raised $1.5 million so far in the Governor race and has the option to self-fund. By comparison, Beauprez has $1.3 million, Ritter has around $500,000 raised and Lindstrom has a whopping $12,000!

Which one is the conservative?  I think I heard Hugh Hewitt speak highly of Beauprez a few weeks ago when he had Bill Owens on.

Someone from Colorado should fill us in.  Who do we want to get the nomination?  When is the primary?  And why is Hickenlooper not running when the polls show him leading?  Going from mayor to governor is a pretty natural step.

someone posting this as 'very bad' if Hickenloper ran. So I guess lets just count our lucky stars he isn't.

The primary is in August. Beauprez and Holtzman are currently duking it out as to who is more conservative.

Most of the conservative bloggers in Colorado are backing Holtzman, and since Holtzman has a bigger warchest and is opening a lead over Ritter I'm going to back him.

Beauprez is a good guy, but he has some serious black marks on his congressional record and a kind of boring personality.

He's supposed to make a decision soon, and frankly I don't know why he's hesitating. His favorability rating is around 70% statewide -- and he's just the mayor of Denver.

Holtzman is an empty suit. He's made a lot of claims, especially concerning his relationship with Ronald Reagan and his stewardship of high-tech development in Colorado that are, shall we say, tenuous. He spent a lot of his father's money in opposition to Referenda C&D (modifying the Taxpayers' Bill of Rights) last fall, endearing himself to hard-line conservatives. In the process, however, he burned a lot of bridges -- especially with Gov. Owens and the media. There wasn't a single daily newspaper that didn't endorse Ref C, and just one that opposed D.

If Holtzman gets the nomination, the media will tear him apart on this fluffed-up bio. The Republicans' only chance is Beauprez, and if Hickenlooper gets in, that's not much of a chance.

That's the situation as I see it from the Denver exurb of Roxborough. If you want to keep up on the insidery details, go to ColoradoPols.com.

BTW, for Republicans, Ritter would be the best D to run against. He's openly pro-life.

that Holtzman's fund-raising consists almost entirely of money he's loaned to his campaign.

I think the fact that Hickenlooper has hesitated this long with these poll results indicates he won't run until 2010. He is also under some pressure to serve out the rest of his mayoral term before running from Democratic bigwigs like former Governor Dick Lamm.

As for the "tenuous" claims from Holtzman about Reagan, I have seen a lot of documentation that he is telling the truth. A Reagan Administation memo that mentions Holtzman even made it into one of the John Roberts document boxes released during the confirmation hearings.

And, as has been pointed out, the ability to self-fund isn't always a bad thing and the Gov. Owens/ Ref. C situation will help him in the Republican primary.

I don't the rest, but if the Denver Mayor enters he's the favorite by a good 5-10 points.