DENVER - GOP gubernatorial candidate Dan Maes spent Wednesday meeting with officials from the Republican Governor's Association in Washington, DC, several sources and the Maes campaign have confirmed.
Maes' campaign spokesman, Nate Strauch, said the meetings were to make sure Maes and the RGA "are on the same page about where the campaign is at."
The question: whether the RGA is considering putting its financial might behind Maes' cash-strapped campaign or making a last-ditch attempt to strong arm him out of the race just two days before Colorado's November ballot is set.
Meanwhile, with that deadline looming, establishment Republicans are distancing themselves from Maes and calling for him to step aside; and Tom Tancredo, the former GOP congressman now mounting a third-party run for governor, is promising a big announcement Thursday morning on KHOW 630's Peter Boyles show.
RGA summons Maes to Washington, DC
At the RGA's unexpected invitation, a hopeful Maes boarded a red-eye flight to Washington that left DIA at 1 a.m. Wednesday morning. After a long day of meetings, he is flying back to Colorado Wednesday evening.
Maes, the Evergreen businessman who narrowly won last month's primary over the scandal-plagued Scott McInnis, has no political experience and no financial backing from the political establishment.
Strong support from Tea Party and 9.12 groups in Colorado has helped the heretofore unknown Maes win his party's nomination, although several Republicans who question his ability to beat Democrat John Hickenlooper have privately asked Maes to drop out and allow the party to appoint a replacement.
Maes has refused to do so; and several polls indicate that, were Tom Tancredo not in the race as a third-party candidate, that he and Hickenlooper would be in a statistical dead heat.
Hickenlooper, however, has already spent $1.2 million on television ads that are set to run over the next two months. Were the RGA to put its money behind Maes, the unlikely face atop Colorado's GOP ticket this fall might be able to get his own message on the air.
The RGA was prepared to spend more than $9 million backing McInnis in the general election; but after the former congressman was caught in a plagiarism scandal, the group decided to spend that money in other states.
Calls to the RGA Wednesday were not returned.
Brown withdraws endorsement of Maes
Former U.S. Sen. Hank Brown, one of the first establishment Republicans to back Maes after his primary win last month, withdrew his support on Wednesday due to a report that Maes may have embellished his resume when describing undercover work he did as a police officer in Liberal, Kan. 25 years ago.
The story, reported by the Denver Post, may be just the excuse establishment Republicans were looking for to pressure Maes to quit the race.
"Hank Brown is the very definition of a statesman, and Dan has been very grateful for his support," Strauch said in a statement. "Regardless of whether he has Senator Brown's formal endorsement going forward, Dan Maes will continue to hold him in the highest regard and look to his example of how one can lead through solid conservative principles."
Following suit later Wednesday, another establishment Republican, former U.S. Rep. Bob Beauprez called on Maes to quit the race.
Maes' wife: "I won't let Dan quit"
But Maes' wife, Karen, in her first television interview, told FOX 31 that her husband won't be forced out.
Echoing an email she sent to supporters last Friday, Karen Maes said she's angry that a bunch of "rich, powerful Republicans" are trying to subvert the will of the voters who delivered the nomination to Maes.
"To have these political powerhouse individuals say Dan you need to step out of the race angered me because it discounted those 200,000 people in the state who voted for Dan," Karen Maes said. "These are people who accustomed to buying their politicians. And they're not buying Dan."
Maes' campaign spokesman, Nate Strauch, said the meetings were to make sure Maes and the RGA "are on the same page about where the campaign is at."
Meanwhile, with that deadline looming, establishment Republicans are distancing themselves from Maes and calling for him to step aside; and Tom Tancredo, the former GOP congressman now mounting a third-party run for governor, is promising a big announcement Thursday morning on KHOW 630's Peter Boyles show.
RGA summons Maes to Washington, DC
At the RGA's unexpected invitation, a hopeful Maes boarded a red-eye flight to Washington that left DIA at 1 a.m. Wednesday morning. After a long day of meetings, he is flying back to Colorado Wednesday evening.
Maes, the Evergreen businessman who narrowly won last month's primary over the scandal-plagued Scott McInnis, has no political experience and no financial backing from the political establishment.
Strong support from Tea Party and 9.12 groups in Colorado has helped the heretofore unknown Maes win his party's nomination, although several Republicans who question his ability to beat Democrat John Hickenlooper have privately asked Maes to drop out and allow the party to appoint a replacement.
Maes has refused to do so; and several polls indicate that, were Tom Tancredo not in the race as a third-party candidate, that he and Hickenlooper would be in a statistical dead heat.
Hickenlooper, however, has already spent $1.2 million on television ads that are set to run over the next two months. Were the RGA to put its money behind Maes, the unlikely face atop Colorado's GOP ticket this fall might be able to get his own message on the air.
The RGA was prepared to spend more than $9 million backing McInnis in the general election; but after the former congressman was caught in a plagiarism scandal, the group decided to spend that money in other states.
Calls to the RGA Wednesday were not returned.
Brown withdraws endorsement of Maes
Former U.S. Sen. Hank Brown, one of the first establishment Republicans to back Maes after his primary win last month, withdrew his support on Wednesday due to a report that Maes may have embellished his resume when describing undercover work he did as a police officer in Liberal, Kan. 25 years ago.
The story, reported by the Denver Post, may be just the excuse establishment Republicans were looking for to pressure Maes to quit the race.
"Hank Brown is the very definition of a statesman, and Dan has been very grateful for his support," Strauch said in a statement. "Regardless of whether he has Senator Brown's formal endorsement going forward, Dan Maes will continue to hold him in the highest regard and look to his example of how one can lead through solid conservative principles."
Following suit later Wednesday, another establishment Republican, former U.S. Rep. Bob Beauprez called on Maes to quit the race.
Maes' wife: "I won't let Dan quit"
But Maes' wife, Karen, in her first television interview, told FOX 31 that her husband won't be forced out.
Echoing an email she sent to supporters last Friday, Karen Maes said she's angry that a bunch of "rich, powerful Republicans" are trying to subvert the will of the voters who delivered the nomination to Maes.
"To have these political powerhouse individuals say Dan you need to step out of the race angered me because it discounted those 200,000 people in the state who voted for Dan," Karen Maes said. "These are people who accustomed to buying their politicians. And they're not buying Dan."
