BEAUPREZ BUZZ: GOP Nominee Siphoning Business Support from Hick

As former Congressman Bob Beauprez gears up his gubernatorial campaign for the general election there is a growing buzz about his ability to peel business support away from sitting Gov. John Hickenlooper.

In fact, the latest person to speculate about Bob’s potential to rally the business community is none other than the influential Denver Business Journal reporter Ed Sealover: 

First, they say, the governor has lost some of that overwhelming business support as he’s struggled to bring together a business-industry coalition to back a legislative proposal that would give local governments more regulatory authority over oil and gas drilling in an attempt to stave off nine potential ballot initiatives that would impose stricter statewide rules on where wells can go.

Hickenlooper continues to seek support for the effort, but so far has gotten only one business group — Colorado Concern — to jump aboard, and several others have expressed major concerns with the process.

Second, there was a buzz running through the primary victory party for now-Republican nominee Bob Beauprez on Tuesday that Republicans now have a candidate around which the business community could rally.

A former bank owner who has vowed to freeze non-essential state regulations, Beauprez relates to the chambers-of-commerce crowd in a way that neither Tancredo nor Maes — or some other recent statewide GOP candidates — could.

Denver, and Colorado for that matter, is known as a bit of a wasteland for business news. The TV stations opt for the salacious over the nitty-gritty of what drives local commerce. Unless there is a major announcement, the most reliable source for day-to-day business news is your local business journal. Sealover is especially good at keeping his pulse how business leaders perceive Colorado politics. His speculations should not be taken lightly.