DENVER - Former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, who said last week he planned to file papers to run for governor in a matter of days, is still mulling over his decision and may be reconsidering plans to challenge the more moderate Scott McInnis for the Republican nomination to take on Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter next year.
"I've certainly gotten a lot of nice emails, and some not so nice," Tancredo said. "Things just change so dramatically, and so quickly, the truth is I just don't know," Tancredo said Monday.
The departure of Republican State Sen. Josh Penry from the race last week prompted Tancredo's talk of running, which sent shock waves across the political landscape from the Western Slope to Washington.
Tancredo, even more than Penry, appeals to the more ideological wing of the GOP, those driven by social issues like abortion and illegal immigration.
McInnis, a moderate, has raised a lot of money but failed to excite the Tea Party contingent that mostly supported Penry and seems eager to welcome back Tancredo; however, Republican strategists worry that Tancredo might knock out McInnis only to lose a general election against Ritter.
So where does that leave Tancredo? On Monday, he was struggling to explain the situation without giving away too much -- but, clearly, not nearly as certain about his own presumptive candidacy as he was just days ago.
"I have to think about it all the time, the agenda," Tancredo said. "The cause is the purpose of my political activity. I have an agenda. I have things I want to accomplish. The question is: what's best way to do it? Sometimes it's to run, and sometimes it's to do other things.
"The office is not as important to me as the issues."
"I've certainly gotten a lot of nice emails, and some not so nice," Tancredo said. "Things just change so dramatically, and so quickly, the truth is I just don't know," Tancredo said Monday.
The departure of Republican State Sen. Josh Penry from the race last week prompted Tancredo's talk of running, which sent shock waves across the political landscape from the Western Slope to Washington.
Tancredo, even more than Penry, appeals to the more ideological wing of the GOP, those driven by social issues like abortion and illegal immigration.
McInnis, a moderate, has raised a lot of money but failed to excite the Tea Party contingent that mostly supported Penry and seems eager to welcome back Tancredo; however, Republican strategists worry that Tancredo might knock out McInnis only to lose a general election against Ritter.
So where does that leave Tancredo? On Monday, he was struggling to explain the situation without giving away too much -- but, clearly, not nearly as certain about his own presumptive candidacy as he was just days ago.
"I have to think about it all the time, the agenda," Tancredo said. "The cause is the purpose of my political activity. I have an agenda. I have things I want to accomplish. The question is: what's best way to do it? Sometimes it's to run, and sometimes it's to do other things.
"The office is not as important to me as the issues."
