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**Update–Penry out, Not running in CD3, Pushed out?; Breaking: Penry to Exit the Governor’s Race?

by elpresidente | 1:58 pm, November 9, 2009 | 4 Comments

**Update 7–what Penry can do with his campaign war chest

**Update 6–first blog reax: “political blackmail”? Colorado GOP “poobahs” push Penry out?

**Update 5–Penry will stay state-focused:

Rep. Laura Bradford, R-Collbran, confirmed the news with the Daily Sentinel shortly after receiving a call from Penry this afternoon. Bradford said Penry told her he is definitely leaving the race and has not considered running for Colorado’s Third Congressional District seat currently held in the U.S. Congress by Democrat John Salazar.

Instead, he will focus on helping other Republican candidates around the state work on their campaigns, Bradford said.

**Update 4–from the Penry campaign (no link):

Josh did an outstanding job framing the debate and articulating the need for change. He raised the level of Republican campaigns in Colorado, and for that he deserves a huge amount of credit. He leaves behind a winning playbook that should help Scott McInnis achieve victory next November.

**Update 3–MSNBC says no CD3 run:

A campaign source says that up-and-comer Josh Penry decided against a CO-GOV primary challenge against Scott McInnis, his former boss when McInnis was in Congress, because he was scared off, in part, by a 527 that was ramping up for McInnis that was set to go after Penry. He is sitting out the 2010 cycle and is NOT running for CO-3 despite the rumors.
. . .
The source added that Penry’s Name ID, they were seeing, was only about 15% to 20% statewide, and Penry felt that a 527 and a nasty political fight could have ruined or significantly damaged his reputation and hurt his political capital with Republicans. This path helps Penry, who’s only 33, build up political capital, the source said.

**Update 2–Cillizza’s post has been updated:

Political chatter in the immediate aftermath of Penry’s decision suggested he might be considering a run against 3rd district Rep. John Salazar (D) who won the Western Slope seat when McInnis retired in 2004. Salazar’s seat is one of 49 held by Democrats that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) carried in 2008. (McCain won it 50 percent to 48 percent for President Barack Obama.) But, Republicans already have a candidate — state Rep. Scott Tipton — they are high on in the race.

Sources close to Penry suggested that he was heavily influenced by the victories for Republicans in New Jersey and Virginia last week — wins due, at least in part, to the lack of competitive primaries on the Republican side.

Penry was worried that a bruising August primary would potentially compromise the eventual nominee’s chances of beating Ritter. Combine that with his youth (he is 33) and his role as state Senate Minority Leader and Penry decided that dropping out of the race was the best option for him and the party.

The jump to CD3 seems dubious, given the non-transferability of funds from Penry’s state race to the Federal contest.

**Update–Post appears to confirm:

State Sen. Josh Penry intends to drop out of the race for governor.

Penry, 33, of Grand Junction, is facing former U.S. Rep. Scott McInnis and Evergreen businessman Dan Maes for the Republican nomination. But Penry has been meeting with people today to let them know he would leave the race.

The news was first reported by The Washington Post’s political blog, The Fix.

Two sources who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak on Penry’s behalf confirmed for The Denver Post that Penry intends to leave the race.

One source said an announcement was imminent and that Penry met with McInnis Monday morning to inform him of the decision. Penry explained he was leaving the race for “personal reasons,” the source said.

Penry has not returned phone calls seeking comment.

Earlier–

Breaking, from Chris Cillizza’s “The Fix”:

Colorado state Sen. Josh Penry (R) plans to end his gubernatorial campaign and endorse former Rep. Scott McInnis (R), according to two sources familiar with his thinking.

Penry’s decision to opt out of the race is a stunner as many national Republicans had touted him as a potential rising star (and we had featured him in our “Rising” series that looks at up and coming politicians).

Chatter in the immediate aftermath of Penry’s decision suggested he may well be considering a run against 3rd district Rep. John Salazar (D) who won the Western Slope seat when McInnis retired in 2004. Salazar’s seat is one of 49 held by Democrats that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) carried in 2008. (McCain won it 50 percent to 48 percent for President Barack Obama.) But, Republicans already have a candidate — state Rep. Scott Tipton — they are high on in the race.

McInnis, who spent six terms in Congress, now has a clear shot at Gov. Bill Ritter (D) next fall. Democrats have expressed serious concern about Ritter’s electoral prospects and his poll numbers have lagged badly since he was elected in a landslide in 2006.

Penry, at 33, was elected to the state House in 2004 and to the state Senate in 2006. Prior to his career in elected office, he had served as a staffer to McInnis in Congress — a fact that made the potential primary all the more delicious.

McInnis beat Penry in the first race within the race, raising $545,000 to Penry’s $400,000 between July 1 and September 30. Ritter collected $452,000 during that time.

Not hearing anything to confirm this report from my sources, but stay tuned . . .

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Comments

  1.   Mushroomed
      November 9th, 2009 @ 5:17 pm

    I will NOT be voting for McInnis. My wife and I are looking forward to getting some new blood into the mix and McInnis represents the establishment. He reminds me of a used car salesman who says what he think you want to hear.

  2.   CapitalistBitch
      November 9th, 2009 @ 5:51 pm

    Agreed, Mushroomed.

    The Rethuglicans still don’t get it. Men like McInnis will strong arm themselves into total irrelevance.

  3.   travis
      November 9th, 2009 @ 6:53 pm

    PPC should run a contest for Scott McInnis’ new campaign slogan. Here, let me start:
    — “What, Me Primary?”
    — “McInnis 2010: Four Years of Ritter Just Haven’t Been Enough”
    — “Scott McInnis: Because Colorado Republicans Don’t Deserve A Choice”
    — “McInnis 2010: You’ll Vote for Who Your Betters Tell You, and You’ll Like It!”
    — “Vote McInnis As If It Matters What You Proles Want”
    — “Vote McInnis: Ritter Might Just Be Weak Enough to Beat!”
    — “Vote McInnis: Hobnobbing at the Country Club Just Hasn’t Been As Exciting Since 2006!”

  4.   Colorado Jones
      November 9th, 2009 @ 9:25 pm

    Looks like the people not voting for who the GOP told them to in the NY23 election has scared Colorado’s Old Guard Republicons (yeah, with an O, like the Decepticons). I suppose this makes McInnis kinda like Megatron. Hmm, I wonder if Dan Maes could be Optimus Prime?

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