Former Congressman Scott McInnis announced today that he will take a pass on the 2008 U.S. Senate race, clearing the way for what could be a wide-open contest for the Republican nomination.
McInnis, who was widely regarded as a front-runner for the GOP nomination, said he will remain involved in politics, but that the contest was not right for his family.
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With the contest still more than a year away, Rep. Mark Udall, D-Eldorado Springs, is positioning himself to run on the Democratic side. McInnis' decision is sure to fuel speculation among Republicans about who might run. Several names have surfaced, including former Rep. Bob Schaffer, retired Air Force Gen. Bentley Rayburn, Attorney General John Suthers.
While this isn't quite the same bombshell as yesterday's news from Louisiana was, it is still a game-changing event in Colorado. McInnis, who had nearly $1 million sitting in his dormant House campaign account, was expected to be no slouch in his bid against Udall for Colorado's open Senate seat. The Republican field, at this point, is whittled down to two names: AG John Suthers and former Rep. Bob Schaffer, a very right-wing figure who lost a bitterly disputed primary battle with beer baron Pete Coors by a 39-61 margin. Suthers is an NRSC favorite while Schaffer is a warm friend of Colorado GOP chair Dick Wadhams (yes, of George Allen '06 fame). As the Guru notes, the Colorado Republican grassroots seem less than impressed with Suthers. I smell a food fight coming on!
The Colorado GOP will be running uphill from now until November 2008.
