Colorado Dems Attack McInnis, Maes Attacks Bike Sharing

In a new twist to the Colorado GOP gubernatorial primary taking place on August 10, an outside group funded by Democrats and Democratic supporters has booked air time for an ad attacking former Rep. Scott McInnis (R-Colo.) over plagiarized articles on water issues:

A group called Colorado Freedom Fund has booked about $50,000 worth of air time for the ad. (The production company that made it should be forced to return some of the money because the narrator mistakenly says “Mick-Kin-us” throughout the spot. It’s “Mick-in-us.”)

Campaign finance records filed Monday with the secretary of state show the group has received $258,00 from three donors since it was formed July 16.

The Democratic Governors Association contributed $100,000, [Colorado major Democratic donor Pat] Stryker $58,000, and the Public Education Committee, a teacher’s union, $100,000.

The ad buy seems odd on the surface. Although McInnis was long considered the GOP favorite, revelations concerning plagiarism have nearly leveled his campaign, so much so that some polls now show his opponent, businessman Dan Maes, out in front with less than a week to go before the vote. The effort may just be intended as a final death blow by Democrats, however, who figure to either knock the disgraced representative out of the race or further tarnish his record before the general election should he manage to hold on.

In either case it seems that Democrats would prefer to face Maes, a businessman with Tea Party support, in the general election, where they hope his political inexperience and right-wing supporters might not fly in the deeply purple state. Further confirming their theory was Maes’s most recent attack against his Democratic opponent, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, in which he argued Hikenlooper’s bike sharing program represented the first step towards UN domination of the Mile High City.