Rep. Tancredo weighing governor’s race

Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.), who announced his retirement from Congress last year before his insurgent bid for president flamed out, is weighing a run for governor in Colorado.

{mosads}Tancredo has already started sounding out potential rivals. Former Rep. Bob Beauprez (R-Colo.), another likely candidate, said Tancredo recently invited him to his office for a political chat. Tancredo told Beauprez of his interest in running, and talked about avoiding a primary.

“He didn’t say he was definitely running. He said he was definitely interested,” Beauprez said. “He said he didn’t think we should have a primary.”

A Tancredo spokesman said Tancredo was on a plane this afternoon and not immediately available for comment.

Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter’s term is up in 2010. Ritter beat Beauprez in 2006, getting 57 percent of the vote to Beauprez’s 40 in a bad year for Republicans. But Republicans say Ritter hasn’t lived up to his campaign rhetoric of being a pro-business Democrat.

Beauprez might be looking for a rematch. But he stresses he hasn’t made a decision. To be a real candidate, Beauprez said he figures someone would need to be “seriously considering” his or her chances by next spring.

“I told Tom that I’m not saying I’m in and I’m not saying I’m out,” Beauprez said, acknowledging that the political environment is difficult for Republicans in Colorado right now.

When Beauprez arrived in Congress in 2003, the Colorado congressional delegation had seven Republicans and two Democrats. It now has five Democrats and four Republicans. If Democrats sweep all the offices they have a chance of winning in next week’s election — including the open Senate seat and the 4th congressional district, where Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R) is vulnerable — the tables will turn on Republicans. Those victories would leave the Colorado delegation with seven Democrats and two Republicans.

Beauprez said he was somewhat surprised that Tancredo is talking about running for governor. He said when Tancredo asked for a meeting, he suspected his fellow Republican would want to talk about challenging Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Colo.), who is also up in 2010.

Tancredo has often sparred with Salazar, particularly on immigration, an issue on which Tancredo has risen to national fame. Anti-illegal immigration sentiment also fueled Tancredo’s run for president in 2008. Presumably, Tancredo could do more to influence the debate on immigration policy as senator than governor, but Salazar is very strong politically.

Other potential Republican candidates include Marc Holtzman, who lost the Republican primary in 2006, and state Sen. Josh Penry. Former Rep. Scott McInnis (R-Colo.) has also made headlines in Colorado recently by criticizing the party for making Bob Schaffer the candidate for Senate.