On the same day that anti-immigration activist and Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo is expected to announce a final decision on whether or not he will be a 2008 presidential candidate, homestate Sen. Wayne Allard has concluded that he will not seek a third term in 2008, opening the door to a very possible Senate run in 2008 by Tancredo instead.
Just when we thought we knew where Tancredo stood on the presidential race, Allard’s promised resignation has thrown the whole thing up in the air.? One has to wonder if Allard’s suspiciously-timed announcement is intended to lure Tancredo away from the Oval Office.? Today’s the moment of truth for this Coloradan congressman.
Update: It looks as though Tancredo may very well be set to forgo that tempting open Senate Seat for a Presidential run in 2008.? Word has it that Tancredo is throwing his support behind fellow Coloradan Rep. Scott McInnis to run for Allard’s seat.
January 15th, 2007 at 4:33 pm
Heh… I’m not so sure that Tancredo is the guy we want running for that Senate seat in ’08. Especially when the Dem challenger is one of the first-tier, A-list challengers in the whole country.
Bill Owens is probably the guy we need to keep that seat.
January 15th, 2007 at 4:39 pm
Single issue candidates seldom make it into the top tier for the Presidency. If Tancredo does run for the Presidency, he will be forced to broaden his issue base. If nothing else, that should help him become a better Congressman.
January 15th, 2007 at 4:43 pm
I think Tancredo’s best strategy here is to be a single issue candidate on illegal immigration. That’s his best hope as a unknown underdog. It’s actually a lot smarter than what other underdogs like George Pataki are trying to do, by just running an all-over-the-board campaign.
A recent poll showed that 19% of Republicans choose immigration as the #1 most pressing matter of the day. If Tancredo can play this issue and come in in the upper tier, he then has a shot at a Cabinet appointment or VP slot, or if he comes in a respectable 2nd or 3rd in a key state like IA, NH, or SC, he might be able to establish himself as the heir apparent for the next open election ala McCain. (Assuming McCain wins in ’08, the next open election would in all likelihood be ’12.)
The odds are against Tancredo winning the nomination this time around, but a guy’s gotta start somewhere.
January 15th, 2007 at 5:25 pm
That’s a very good point. I never saw it that way before.
January 15th, 2007 at 6:44 pm
With all due respect, Congressman Tancredo is a lightweight and shrill whose approach to border security (and I consider myself a tough on the border person) has been harmful to the Republican Party. Exit polling shows that the language of invasion alienates voters of color from the GOP, even those who believe our borders are too porous; we have seen this in California since Proposition 187 and in the last congressional election in seats contiguous to the Mexican border. The rapidly growing Hispanic population in Colorado makes Tancredo unelectable as a United States Senator. By running for president in 2008, Tancredo gives up his congressional seat and gets knocked out of elected politics for good, which is probably a win for the GOP as long as they can hold his House seat in Colorado.
January 15th, 2007 at 7:18 pm
Looks like Tancredo is going to skip the Senate and go forwards with his presidnetial campaign. According to the Rock Mountain News:
January 15th, 2007 at 8:17 pm
Republius,
Agreed. If Tancredo wants any chance of accomplishing anything in ’08, he needs to tone it down a notch. Which menas, no more calling Chinese leaders “stupid,” no more calling for the bombing of Muslim holy sites, no more calling Jeb Bush’s Florida a “third world country.”
It’s sad because he’s really a very pleasant, composed, intelligent politician in person, but the man just has no verbal self control and let’s his tongue fly sometimes.
January 15th, 2007 at 8:34 pm
He wouldn’t win either race… but he could possibly win the Republican primary for senate. Him in any statewide race is asking for defeat.
January 15th, 2007 at 8:34 pm
I live in Colorado and like them both. Unfortunately, the democrat candidate will probably take Allard’s seat. I think Allard’s people probably decided that he is too conservative for Colorado after the recent elections. I’ll miss not voting for him in ’08.
I do agree with Woodrow Eisenhower regarding what has been said about Tancredo. He does need to turn it down a few notches if he is serious about a presidential run. Personally, I think he has said too many harsh things which have severely limited his appeal rendering his national campaign doomed beyond all hope.
January 15th, 2007 at 8:36 pm
Ooops, I meant “I’ll miss voting for him”
January 15th, 2007 at 10:12 pm
Tancredo is the very definition of a demogogue. That said, I’d rather have him running for the presidency where his presence would do comparatively little damage, then blowing our chances at the open seat.
January 16th, 2007 at 9:02 am
[...] When Senator Allard (R-CO) announced yesterday that he would not be seeking a third term, it was believed that Tancredo would forego the presidential run to seek a Senate seat. Apparently, Tancredo believes at this point in time a serious look at his presidential chances should be conducted. [...]
January 16th, 2007 at 10:31 am
How would Tancredo not have a chance of winning Allard’s seat?
January 16th, 2007 at 11:25 am
Because Tancredo is a demogogic, right-wing lunatic in an increasingly blue state? Mark my words, Allard isn’t running this go because he realizes he couldn’t win. And Tancredo is significantly more conservative/scary then Allard.
January 16th, 2007 at 11:33 am
Then why does Tancredo keep on winning re-election?
January 16th, 2007 at 11:36 am
He’s in an astonishingly conservative district?
January 16th, 2007 at 11:40 am
If he has that district what would prevent him from winning the majority of the vote in the other five districts? Colorado is leaning blue not New York blue.
January 16th, 2007 at 11:57 am
Any ability whatever to appeal to moderates and independents?
January 16th, 2007 at 1:06 pm
[...] While a Senator without camera envy seems as uncommon and virtuous as a virgin in a cathouse, Allard’s willingness to perform the “thankless tasks” of the Senate would not likely have offered much of a re-election platform in the face of such a national humiliation. With his departure, the GOP appears to have quickly coalesced around former Rep. Scott Innis, as even potential candidate Rep. Tom Tancredo threw his support around Innis, preferring the rubber-chicken circuit of the GOP presidential primaries to those for the Colorado Republican Senate race. Attorney General John Suthers and former Broncos quarterback John Elway’s name have also risen, although Colorado Republicans likely won’t take Elway as they don’t have the luxury of losing three elections by blowout margins before Elway finally wins a campaign. Unless of course he’s running against the Green Bay Packers. [...]
January 16th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
Of course Tancredo can’t appeal to those who disagree with him on something, unlike Huckabee. Tom is just in this to keep the other candidates discussing his issue. When it’s been discussed enough, he’s dropping out to focus on his seat (which he would never be foolish enough to lose.)
January 18th, 2007 at 10:34 am
[...] While a Senator without camera envy seems as uncommon and virtuous as a virgin in a cathouse, Allard’s willingness to perform the “thankless tasks” of the Senate would not likely have offered much of a re-election platform in the face of such a national humiliation. With his departure, the GOP appears to have quickly coalesced around former Rep. Scott Innis, as even potential candidate Rep. Tom Tancredo threw his support around Innis, preferring the rubber-chicken circuit of the GOP presidential primaries to those for the Colorado Republican Senate race. Attorney General John Suthers and former Broncos quarterback John Elway’s name have also risen, although Colorado Republicans likely won’t take Elway as they don’t have the luxury of losing three elections by blowout margins before Elway finally wins a campaign. Unless of course he’s running against the Green Bay Packers. [...]