Colorado GOP chairman: Ken Buck will have ‘challenges’ in Senate run

{mosads}Ryan Call told The Hill on Tuesday that while the candidate, whose 2010 run for Senate was derailed by a number of gaffes about homosexuality and running against a female candidate, would face some difficulties in his run, he’d be a hard worker. 

“I think he’s going to have some challenges, but I also think you’re not going to find someone who’s going to work harder — he is very driven and focused,” Call said.

Asked how concerned he is about Buck’s candidacy and his potential gaffes distracting from fiscal issues — much the same way a gaffe by Missouri GOP Senate candidate Todd Akin derailed his candidacy and distracted Republican candidates nationwide for days in 2012 — Call acknowledged that “that’s going to be Ken Buck’s challenge.” 

Call said that while he wouldn’t suggest to any candidate an avoidance of the social issues that tend to draw candidates down a path similar to Akin’s, he would advise candidates to “steer away from the things that government ought not to be in the business of.”

“My advice to any candidate is [to] talk about the issues that are important to you and are going to be important to the people you’re representing. Focus on the things that the government can do well, and ought to be doing well, and steer away from the things that government ought not to be in the business of,” he said.

Buck recently joined a crowded GOP field vying for the chance to take on Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.), who is polling well and remains in a strong position for reelection.

Republicans believe they’ll have a shot at taking him down, however, citing President Obama’s declining portion of the vote in 2012 and Buck’s close race against Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) in 2010. Call, too, said progressive policies passed by the state legislature and signed into law by increasingly unpopular Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) could fuel backlash against Democrats at the polls.

State Sens. Owen Hill (R) and Randy Baumgardner (R) have also thrown their hats into the ring, and former Rep. Bob Beauprez (R) is considering a run.