May 22, 2010 04:47 AM UTC

"Tea Party" Claims Another Scalp

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• by: Colorado Pols

That’s the word from Senate District 16, as the Denver Post’s Lynn Bartels writes for The Spot:

Eagle County District Attorney Mark Hurlbert, who is running for the state Senate, fell short of making the primary ballot today and said he’s not sure whether he plans to petition on.

Hurlbert got 29 percent of the delegate vote while challenger Tim Leonard captured 71 percent. Candidates need 30 percent to make the ballot outright.

“I’m sorry Mark,” Sen. Al White, R-Hayden, who nominated Hurlbert, said afterward…

Leonard has the backing of the legislature’s most conservative members, former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo and the Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, which claims Hurlbert is anti-Second Amendment. Hurlbert’s supporters include Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry of Grand Junction His supporters maintain Democrats can’t beat him in November.

Be that as it may, more people–like Sen. Al White–will tell you that Mark Hurlbert was much more qualified to make that claim. But there’s no denying the significance of this upset by Leonard and his “Tea Party” backers in the short run, is there?