It took two weeks, but today the Colorado Secretary of State announced that Darryl Glenn submitted enough valid signatures to make the ballot in the race to unseat incumbent Congressman Doug Lamborn.
Glenn claimed in a Valentine’s Day press release that he wanted to get the petitions in first so that he could “lead from the front,” and “put the 5th Congressional District on the map,” a subtle jab at his claim that Lamborn has not been enough of a leader to properly represent the district, which includes Glenn’s alma mater, the US Air Force Academy.
Glenn was required to submit 1,000 valid signatures for ballot access. He submitted 1,739 signatures, and 500 were rejected, representing a 29% rejection rate. This is interesting in the context that Glenn departed from the widely used tactic of using paid signature gatherers for large races. Glenn used an all-volunteer force to collect signatures. Will the volunteers who helped him gather signatures help him in the election? It could make his campaign more viable.
It will be interesting to know how the signatures shake out for statewide races. Many of these campaigns are using paid petition gatherers who hang out at grocery stores and shopping centers, and the gatherers (no offense) are not exactly sticklers for detail. If Glenn came in with a 29% rejection rate with no other candidates submitting ahead of him, we could be looking at some statewide candidates cutting it very close, especially with candidates submitting signatures that cannot be used by subsequent competitors submitting signatures at a later date. Stay tuned…