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April 13, 2009 08:56 PM UTC

BREAKING: Marc Holtzman Won't Run for Governor

  • 51 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

Republican Marc Holtzman told friends and supporters over the weekend that he would not run for governor in 2010 after all.

Holtzman had been widely expected among Republicans to formally enter the race for governor this summer. He had strong support from heavy-hitters in the business community, and would likely have had the full backing of folks such as Larry Mizel and Mike Fries. Business community leaders who wanted to see a businessman run for governor will be left looking elsewhere now, since both Scott McInnis and Josh Penry are lawyer/lobbyists and career politicians, respectively.

So why did Holtzman, who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2006, decide against a run in 2010? Holtzman works in International banking and development, and he told friends that he could not in good conscience pull out of his many business responsibilities given the current economic crisis.

Of course, it’s probably not a good year to run for higher office with banking and/or finance in your title, either, but those close to Holtzman say the perception problem wasn’t what pushed him out of the race (and neither was a potential primary with McInnis and/or Penry, since Holtzman would have raised the most money of the three).

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51 thoughts on “BREAKING: Marc Holtzman Won’t Run for Governor”

  1. That would’ve been a good one.  

    Marcs career decisions are funny though.  He was technology secretary during the dot com implosion and then he chose to be an “investment banker” again right before the global financial meltdown.

    Marc couldn’t control either crisis of course, or stem the tide of either, but his timing speaks volumes.

    There won’t be any Holtzy to kick around anymore.  Damn.

    1. Holtzman is more to the center than Penry, so his absence in the race paints a fairly stark picture between center-right McInnis and far-right Penry.

      1. In your opinion isn’t the GOP a bankrupt party co-opted by the far right, etc…?? shouldn’t that should make either your statement or your assumptions wrong?

        I keep hearing a lot about that other former football player too.. What’s up with that?

        1. I appreciate your attempt to use logic, it’s a great leap forward for you.

          My opinion on the GOP is somewhat similar to what you described it as, but my comment was only related to McInnis’ hopes, not his overall chances at winning or the state of the CO GOP.

          My thinking process was: if McInnis has a shot in hell (which I think he does) then it only helps him to be the only center-right candidate in the primary.

          A for effort though.

                1. during the campaign, it was pretty hard to figure out where he stood on anything.

                  Holtzman’s supporters characterize him as center-right, which is where I got that information from.

                  If you have anything to back up what you’re saying, please show me. Unlike you, I admit when I’m wrong on something.

                  Until then, though, I’ll just assume you’re pulling opinions out of your wide-stanced ass like you normally do.

                    1. If you, Libertad, king of wide stances (see: flip-flopping) think I’m a flip-flopper than I may very well be.

                      Of course, you can’t provide any evidence to support your conclusion, so I’ll just assume you’re wrong as usual.

                      If you want to continue this pointless conversation, feel free to e-mail me, but I think we should stop clogging up the thread now, K?

                    2. RSB has been consistent.  With the toddler, you never know what you’re going to get.  Contradiction be thy name.

                  2. It was hard to characterize where Beauprez was coming from.

                    But the general thought (from sources such as the Almanac of American Politics–a great book for political junkies–) is that Holtzman was going after Beauprez from the right.

                    That’s why Holtzman was able to attack Bob over ref C.  The hardline was against it, so Marc made an issue of it with the base.

                    That’s why Marc got the support of people like Doug Bruce.

                    Marc may actually be center right, but that’s not how he cast himself in 2006.

                    1. Though Beauprez probably moved slightly right of where he was while in the House, even while taking into account the campaign flip-flops.  

      2. I don’t see McInnis running against Penry in the primary.  When all is said and done, either they pursue different offices or one of them doesn’t run.

  2. He didn’t even get a mention at the Denver County GOP straw poll last Thursday.  Penry absolutely crushed McInnis et al.

    1. Josh Penry – 47.6%

    2. Scott McInnis – 14.3%

    3. Tom Tancredo – 9.5%

    4. Bob Beauprez – 4.8%

    4. Mark Hillman – 4.8%

    4. Dan Caplis – 4.8%

    4. Ryan Call – 4.8%

    4. Undecided – 4.8%

    Holtzman has almost as much baggage as McInnis…not to mention that Marc hasn’t spent a helluva lot of time in Colorado in the last 2 1/2 years.  He’s about as much a Coloradoan as Hillary was a New Yorker.

      1. But he’s erratic, and a pretty damn crappy campaigner – he tends to rub a lot of people the wrong way.  His Gov campaign was a treasure trove of gaffes and missteps.

        I was puzzled as to why Pols gave him such good odds on the gov line…

        1. Holtzman was well-connected in the business community, and big supporters (like Mizel). In this economy, raising money is going to be tough.

          2. It doesn’t matter how far Marc was up Larry Mizel’s ass.  The Amendment 27 limit is a hard cap.  It’s the same for everybody.

            There are only 2 situations where Marc MIGHT have had a cash advantage.  1.  He writes a big personal check.  Marc has a big ego, but contrary to public opinion…he was never worth all that much.  His dad has the big money.  2.  His “friends/dad/etc” fund a 527 to run more glossy TV ads on ballot initiatives.  That didn’t seem to work out very well did it?

            I’m always amazed at the complete lack of any consistent internal logic you have about the business community.  You’re constantly harping about how business now supports democrats and has walked away from republicans.  Then you turn around and talk about how business support is going to give Holtzman a big edge over anybody else.  Which is it?

            “Business” doesn’t get involved in funding primaries and in general elections “Business” gives fairly equally to both sides and hedges its bets.  Nor is “Business” money decisive in partisan elections because they haven’t bought into the importance of partisan elections like the labor unions have.  They’d rather just be left alone.

            1. “Marc has a big ego, but contrary to public opinion…he was never worth all that much.  His dad has the big money”

              I am sure Seymours pocketbook is breathing a huge sigh of relief today…

    2. What about Larry Mizel or John Elway?  The thinner the bench looks, the more sense a high profile businessman or celebrity candidate makes for Colorado GOP.  Either would be more viable than Tancredo in a statewide election, and carry less baggage than Penry or McInnis.

    3. Sure looks that way, otherwise 5 candidates sharing the same number of supporters is quite interesting.

      I’d honestly be surprised if the Minority Leader of the Senate couldn’t get 10 votes in a Denver GOP straw poll, esp. when none of the other candidates are truly Denver-centric.

    4. Yeah, how’d that whole Hillary in New York thing turn out in the end?

      The money wasn’t even Holtzman’s biggest advantage, it was the fact that Penry and McInnis were going to commit fratricide on each other and leave a gaping opening for him.

    5. 1. Josh Penry – 47.6%

      2. Scott McInnis – 14.3%

      3. Tom Tancredo – 9.5%

      4. Bob Beauprez – 4.8%

      4. Mark Hillman – 4.8%

      4. Dan Caplis – 4.8%

      4. Ryan Call – 4.8%

      4. Undecided – 4.8%

      When five people get exactly 4.8% apiece, that tells me that your wonderful “straw poll” had about two dozen people participating. There was one vote each for Beauprez, Hillman, Caplis, Call and Undecided, two for Tancredo, three for McInnis, and the rest for Penry.

      Whoop-dee-friggin’-doo.

      1. The sample becomes more relevant as n increases. n=21 may not be a large enough sample to infer any preference in the population. Unless this is for mayor of Brookside.  

  3. Mizel would have been able to raise buckets of cash, both in and out of state.  After all, he served on the finance committee of both Giuliani and McCain.  Plus, his business background would have given him ample ammunition and authority to go after Ritter.  (And he can out-think Penry with half his brain tied behind his back.)  Where will the business community go now? I doubt Penry.  Maybe McInnis if he plays this right.    

      1. The state Constitution regulates how much money you can raise.  Raising money for a Presidential candidate with federal limits is 20 times easier than raising the same amount of money in a gubernatorial.

        As far as Holtzman out thinking anybody…you must not have spent much time around him.  Your average Hamster would give him a run for his money.  Speaking of which…Marc took a bunch of money from his dad and made a bit of money in eastern europe buying and selling political connections.  Ask Bill Owens about how Marc did as Secretary of Technology.  CBMS worked out great didn’t it?

  4. where is a good moderate Republican like a Norma Anderson in the mix of things?

    Seems to me that the best chance Republicans have against a fairly weak Ritter would be a good moderate, good government person like Norma Anderson.  She is tough as nails but is not a screaming radical ala Penry or an opportunist (“somebody elect me to something–I;m bored in the private sector” person) like McInnis.

      1. which makes her the same age as Sen. Diane Feinstein of California who is mulling a run for the governor’s office there.

        Anderson, in my estimation, would be the strongest candidate for the Republicans at this juncture….

            1. …not to those other two.

              Is Anderson, age 75, willing to drive around the state in a RV spreading her name?  Cuz I’m pretty sure Feinstein would never do so and would never need to do so.

              1. I have no idea if she’s even interested (she likely isn’t or we’d have heard something already).  

                What I was suggesting is that, if she were interested, she’d be a strong candidate—stronger than any of the Republicans whose names are being tossed around at present.

  5. Maybe Wadhams is just writing off this next election cycle.  2010 will be a little soon for Americans and Coloradoans to forget what Republicans have done to our country and state.  Put the more moderate Scooty up as a sacrifice this time and look four years down the road where they could run a true extremist like Penry.

    1. On GOP logic (or what’s left of it), but there’s no way Wadhams & Co. would sit on an opportunity like 2010. It looks good for the Democrats now, but the economy is going no where fast, and President Obama will get hung with a lot of the blame. Plus, Republicans have two big offices to go after. At best (for us Dems), it’ll be a reversal of 2002, with the GOP going all-in for one office, virtually ignoring the other, and losing both. But I doubt it.

      The best part about pessimism is that you’re either right or pleasantly surprised…

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