Last week was a bad week for state House Minority Leader and Third Congressional District candidate Sal Pace (D-Pueblo). On Thursday we at Colorado Peak Politics broke the story of his long and illustrious criminal rap sheet, including a previously undisclosed second arrest for public urination that occurred while he was a high ranking Democrat party operative. Adding to his woes is his former boss, former Congressman John Salazar, publicly dumping on his chances at winning the district.
In an interview with the AP's Kristen Wyatt, Salazar declined to boost Pace's chances in CD3:
Democrats are gunning for Tipton, indicating the 3rd District may be their best shot in Colorado to knock off a Republican in 2012. State House Democratic Leader Sal Pace of Pueblo hopes to unseat Tipton.
Salazar said he never considered running again.
Can Democrats take the seat back? "It's a tough row to hoe," Salazar said, and then changed the topic back to farming. [Peak emphasis]
Ouch.
Pace went to work for Salazar's first Congressional campaign only months after being picked up for public urination a second time, where he was arrested mere steps from the state Capitol.
After rising in the ranks of Salazar's political world, Pace became the Campaign Manager for Salazar's re-election campaign in 2006 and was also his District Director.
If Salazar, as Pace's mentor and someone who is intimately familiar with the district, won't publicly endorse his chances of victory, maybe it's not going to be as competitive as the DCCC would like it.
As Salazar made these comments before Pace's full criminal record was revealed, it speaks even more directly to the uphill battle Pace faces in the 3rd CD.
Taking these two stories together it appears Nancy Pelosi's House Majority Super PAC has been pissing away donors' money on ads hitting Scott Tipton.
Sure was a crappy week for Sal Pace.
(Photo Credit: Peoples Press Collective)