DENVER | Republican voters on Tuesday selected former U.S. Rep. Bob Beauprez to challenge Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper in November, pinning their hopes to end a long electoral drought in Colorado on a candidate who lost his previous gubernatorial bid by 17 points.
Beauprez, a buffalo rancher who grew up working on his father’s dairy farm, defeated three other Republican candidates in a sleepy primary with little advertising thunder — but that political climate will change quickly. Hickenlooper, who has raised nearly $3 million for his re-election bid, already has purchased $1.4 million in television advertising for the weeks leading up to the general election.
The victory punctuates an eight-year journey for Beauprez back to the Republican Party spotlight and shows that despite his past defeat, the GOP establishment still views him as the most formidable candidate against Hickenlooper.
“I grew up in an America where you pick yourself up, you dust yourself off, you start all over again,” Beauprez said, recalling his earlier run. “That’s sort of the nature of life. This is a very different environment than it was in 2006.”
This time, Republicans are looking to criticize Hickenlooper for gun-control bills he signed last year in the wake of mass shootings, and his decision to grant an indefinite stay of execution to death row inmate Nathan Dunlap. Dunlap was convicted of murder in the deaths of four people at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant in Aurora in 1996.
Beauprez said Hickenlooper’s decision on Dunlap showed “an unwillingness to even make the tough call.” He added, “Coloradoans are hungry for leadership.”
Democrats began their attacks on Beauprez immediately. A press release from ProgressNow Colorado called Beauprez “one of Colorado’s most storied political losers.”
Hickenlooper, in a statement, congratulated his opponent and said he looks “forward to a positive conversation about the future of our state.”
The governor then noted that Colorado unemployment has fallen from 9 percent four years ago to 5.8 percent today. “We’re committed to keeping that positive momentum going until Colorado is number one in the country for job creation,” Hickenlooper stated.
Beauprez defeated another former congressman, Tom Tancredo, Secretary of State Scott Gessler and former state Sen. Mike Kopp on Tuesday’s primary.
He had been expected to replace Republican Gov. Bill Owens in 2006. He lost badly, however, to Democrat Bill Ritter. Since then, the GOP has been in the minority in the Colorado Senate and controlled the state House for only two years. Barack Obama also carried the state twice.
The 65-year-old Beauprez, who served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, entered the race in February, describing himself as the best choice to defeat Hickenlooper, who has far outpaced all GOP challengers in fundraising.
Republicans saw Tancredo as a potential liability, not only in the governor’s election in November, but in other races as well, most notably as the U.S. Senate contest between Democratic incumbent Sen. Mark Udall and Republican U.S. Rep. Cory Gardner. They believed Tancredo’s strong opposition to illegal immigration — and incendiary comments he’s made on the subject — had the potential to alienate independent voters and depress Republican turnout.
Tancredo lost to Hickenlooper in 2010, when he ran as the Constitution Party candidate, underscoring his contentious relationship with his own party.
Tancredo, who finished second Tuesday, said there was a “resource disparity of a pretty significant amount” in the primary, noting some of the few ads in the campaign were from political groups making him out to be someone who wanted to legalize drugs, including heroin and cocaine. Tancredo disputed the characterization.
Tancredo said he had called to congratulate Beauprez.
“I’m glad that he has been able to take the reins of the Republican Party in this challenge, because it will be a big one,” he said. Tancredo had repeatedly said he would support whichever Republican won in the primary for governor, and that hasn’t changed.
He said he even told Beauprez he’d stay as far away as possible if he thinks that would increase his chances of winning.
“If I’m really the ogre that I’m portrayed as, who knows who will want me around?” he joked.
Tancredo raised the most money among Republicans, with $793,000. Beauprez raised $306,000 and loaned himself about $500,000.
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Associated Press writer Kristen Wyatt contributed to this report.