The bonhomie feel between the GOP candidates throughout the primary carried over to primary night. While former Rep. Bob Beauprez ended up the winner of the night, former Rep. Tom Tancredo, former state Minority Leader Mike Kopp, and Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler all excused themselves with grace and dignity. This just shows that had any of them won last night instead, Colorado Republicans would have had just as strong of a candidate to take on Gov. John Hickenlooper.
Early on it was apparent the votes were breaking Beauprez’s way, but Tancredo hosted his watch party much like he ran his campaign: on his own terms. He also never lost his sense of humor:
#tancredo smiles and yells out, “yard signs for sale” as he is updated with more results #copolitics
— Corrie Sahling (@CorrieSahling) June 25, 2014
Can’t make this #cogov up –> RT @CPRMarkus: Tom Tancredo calling Beauprez now to congratulate. Can’t find number. #copolitics — Kyle Clark (@KyleClark) June 25, 2014
Tom, send us one of those yard signs, we’d be proud to hang it around our offices. Same goes for Kopp and Gessler. While those two are likely disappointed, they ended up short in the end, the votes they garnered, the fight they fought, and the determination they showed in the race makes us excited to see what is next for them in Colorado politics. As Tancredo, Gessler, and Kopp saw the writing on the wall, they were all quick to pledge their support and assistance to Beauprez:
I want to congratulate @bobbeauprez on winning the nomination tonight. I’ll be helping Bob in the race in any capacity I can. #COPolitics
— Mike Kopp (@ColoradoForKopp) June 25, 2014
Its an honor to have had thousands of Coloradans support our campaign. Congratulations @bobbeauprez let's help him win!
— Scott Gessler (@scottgessler) June 25, 2014
Tancredo talking to Beauprez now. Says he'll do anything he can to help beat Gov Hickenlooper. #fox31 #copolitics pic.twitter.com/5rXdquUIE3
— Kent Erdahl (@kenterdahl) June 25, 2014
That surely is a terrifying thought for Hickenlooper. Here he thought after the primary he’d only have to worry about one of the GOP gubernatorial candidates. Yet, as they all showed throughout their campaigns and the debates, each of them is more than capable to take the fight to Hickenlooper. How great would that be to unleash those three around the state? While we’re at it, can we get Sen. Greg Brophy, Steve House, and Roni Bell Sylvester to reenlist? Between all of them, Hickenlooper and his campaign would get zero sleep between now and November.
There’s a singular focus to all Colorado conservatives right now: to beat Hickenlooper. Now that our candidate has been chosen, we look forward to releasing all sorts of hell on Hick. If people thought he had a drinking problem before…
#BringIt RT @beckylong Guess it's time to dust off ye olde "how to beat Bob Beauprez" handbook #copolitics
— Allen Fuller (@allenfuller) June 25, 2014
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