CO-Gov: Tancredo will launch third-party bid

With Republican candidate Scott McInnis beleaguered by the massive plagiarism scandal and refusing to leave the race, Tom Tancredo is stepping in.

“I will officially announce at noon that I will seek the nomination of the constitution party,” Tancredo told The Denver Post....

Tancredo gave Republican candidates Scott McInnis and Dan Maes an ultimatum last week: Promise to get out of the race after the primary if polls showed the winner lagging behind Democrat John Hickenlooper or else he would get in as a third-party candidate.

Both Maes and McInnis refused.

The Post story details the out-and-out war between Tancredo and Colorado Republican chair Dick Wadhams, writing that the two "had an all-out-brawl on Peter Boyles’ KHOW radio station show this morning, screaming at each other and calling each other 'liars.'" Wadhams, rightly, points out that a Tancredo run will split the Republican vote and almost assuredly lead to a victory for Dem John Hickenlooper, Denver's very popular mayor -- provided Hickenlooper doesn't take the race for granted and campaigns hard. The stakes for Dems are particularly high in Colorado this year, with the hopes of keeping both a Senate and the Governor's seat in Dem hands.

(See blue aardvark's recommended diary for additional discussion.)