2010 Colorado Gubernatiorial Race-Controversy and Change

Colorado's current Governor is stepping down this year. Bill Ritter will not seek reelection for the high office of Colorado. That leaves the door open for new blood. In the final tally of likely candidates, three have emerged. Dan Maes the Republican candidate has let the deadline lapse for pulling out, something that Republicans were really trying to let him know they wanted him to do.

His answer, according to The Christian Science Monitor, was, "People are sick and tired of power brokers trying to dictate the results of this race. We're not going anywhere," Maes said Thursday.(csmonitor.com) Though controversial from the beginning with allegations of issues relating to plagiarism, Maes is determined to carry it through. He also carries some Tea Party support. Maes is currently running at about a 24% support rating.

Tom Tancredo is also running on the Republican platform. Determined to derail Maes and his supposed illegal dealings, he refuses to back down and support Maes. He is running on many of the same conservative values as a standard Republican candidate. According to his website, Tancredo For Governor, "Tancredo's platform for Colorado echoes Reagan Revolution principles - downsizing state government, protection for taxpayers, reform of education, and support for the state's oil and gas industry against crippling federal and state regulations. And yes, he also pledges to follow Arizona in enacting tough immigration-control laws and ending all sanctuary-city policies."(tancredoforgovernor.co)

The Trojan Horse in this race however is John Hickenlooper, the Democratic Candidate. Born in Pennsylvania, Hickenlooper moved to Colorado in 1981. Raised by a widowed mother who lived through the Great Depression, he has learned frugal from the ground up. After losing his job in the early 80's, John struggled and planned and finally opened Wynkoop Brewing Company in 1988. His method of advertising was to include all of the restaurants in the area. He was instrumental is changing the downtown Denver area from a high crime area to a revitalized, popular area, now called LoDo, that enjoys great success. He also had a hand in keeping the new football stadium for the Broncos named the Mile High Stadium.Hickenlooper's dedication to the state of Colorado has been a big part of the success of Denver since he became Mayor. He has continued to make improvements and to build Denver into an international city.

His run for Governor is also making big news across Colorado. We are so used to the negative campaigns and nasty ads all over the place during elections, seeing a candidate actually refrain from doing that is refreshing and surprising. Hickenlooper has blanketed the TV with ads, but you won't see him talking junk about his opponents, even though Maes has given him plenty of ammunition. Hickenlooper's ads are straight forward about the issues and he states that he will never run negative ads. Click here to see one of these: hickenlooperforcolorado.com

Hickenlooper's concerns lie along the same lines as the Democratic Party. He is working on new jobs for Colorado, Agriculture, Energy changes, health care and more. He has the experience needed to run Colorado, if you look at his bio.

November will sort out the Colorado race and give Colorado a new state leader. If the race proceeds the way most observers think it will, Hickenlooper will be the clear winner. His new approach to elections and his single stance against the divided Republican party pretty much assures a win in November for him. We will see if running a clean, honest campaign is what Colorado wants. If Maes wins, we have witnessed his desire to win at any cost, even lying. Tancredo, though a viable, honest candidate, doesn't carry the support to win at this point.

Colorado needs a Governor that is truly thinking about its welfare. Which candidate will end up with the title of Governor will be determined soon.