It seems that Colorado Democrats are getting increasingly worried about the race for Attorney General between current AG Phil Weiser and GOP challenger John Kellner. The tell, in this case, is the slew of campaign finance complaints against Kellner that range from frivolous to nitpicky.
The gotcha politics of campaign finance complaints are used by both sides with mixed results. Sometimes they can be pretty serious, like when Secretary of State Jenna Griswold used $1 million of taxpayer money on TV ads meant to bolster her public image in an election year. Or when the leftist attack group ProgressNow issued a fake voter guide intentionally meant to deceive Republicans. Other complaints, like the ones filed against Kellner, amount to harmless administrative errors that are easily corrected.
Under normal circumstances, if you’ve got a rich packet of oppo research, your campaign or party won’t waste precious time and resources filing complaints over the accidental and mundane misreporting of in-kind contributions. Does the average voter even know or care what an in-kind contribution is? We’re betting that’s a hard no. And, if Democrats had anything else on Kellner that’s what you’d be hearing about.
Unfortunately for Weiser, Kellner is a formidable opponent, and it’s a tough time to be a Democrat running for Attorney General. Crime is on the rise, and even though that kind of law enforcement isn’t *technically* in the AG’s wheelhouse, it doesn’t matter. Most voters don’t have time for nuance. This, again, is why trivial campaign finance complaints won’t make it very far. But you play the cards you were dealt, even if those cards are a pair of twos. Or in this case, a pair of really in-the-weeds nitpicks.