Holtzman Petitions Onto Primary

Gets the required signatures to make it to the August 8 primary against Beauprez, even after failing at the state assembly:

"The Republican Party has always stood for ballot access. Today is proof that Republican voters of Colorado want a choice in determining who best represents their values," Holtzman said.

Joshua Sharf at View From a Height sees the Holtzman tactic of painting Beauprez as a RINO as a non-starter, and that Holtzman's standing as a future candidate will suffer if he ends up costing the GOP the governorship.

The most puzzling thing is that Holtzman's tactics will endear him to few "moderates" in Colorado in terms of the independent, non-affiliated vote--they can not vote for him anyway in the primary. The state as a whole is trending "purple", and the anti-incumbent/party sentiment is growing, and no doubt a furious and angry primary run-up will damage the GOP's image further with that bloc of voters.

Also, Holtzman seems the type--contrarian, anti-establishment, and deep pockets--that would continue even after the primary to target Beauprez, perhaps either by not publicly supporting his candidacy, or even attempting to form a third party/write-in candidacy as a protest vote. There might just be enough hard-line GOP voters to swing that way, and given Gov. Bill Owens' small margin of victory in 1998, could be enough to give Dem. Bill Ritter the slightest edge in a narrowly contested race.