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The National Republican Congressional Committee on Wednesday announced that 10 GOP challengers made up the first class of “Young Guns,” described as candidates who’ve established “a clear path to victory through their ability to build a formidable campaign structure and achieve important goals and benchmarks.”
Noticeably absent from the list is state Rep. Cory Gardner of Yuma, who has been among the candidates making the first cut at previous stages of the Young Guns program. Young Guns is meant to identify top GOP candidates for Democratic-held seats, and is divided into three stages: “On the Radar,” “Contender” and “Young Gun.”
Gardner was on the NRCC’s initial list of 12 “on the radar” candidates in July. Seven of those made the first “Young Gun” list Wednesday, with only Gardner, Van Tran of California, Frank Guinta of New Hampshire, Charles Djou of Hawaii and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois left off.
Gardner also was among the first nine candidates advanced to “contender” status in October. He and Guinta were the only ones in that group not elevated to “Young Gun” on Wednesday.
I’ve asked the NRCC why Gardner didn’t make the first cut and I’ll post a response when I get it.
Gardner is in a four-way fight for the Republican nomination to take on first-term Democratic Rep. Betsy Markey. The others are Tom Lucero of Berthoud, a small business owner and University of Colorado regent; former Fort Collins City Council member Diggs Brown; and Loveland businessman Dean Madere.
To advance in the Young Gun process, candidates must meet a series of fundraising and organizational benchmarks. Gardner and Ryan Frazier of Aurora, who’s challenging Democratic Rep. Ed Perlmutter, are the only two Colorado candidates currently part of the process, and both are at “contender status.”
UPDATE 1:54 P.M. Here’s a comment from the NRCC’s Joanna Burgos.
“Every campaign and every district has a different set of benchmarks and a different timeline on its path to victory. Cory has excelled and achieved a number of goals already and we are confident he will continue to succeed as he builds the campaign necessary to defeat Betsy Markey.”
UPDATE 3:02 P.M. Scott Tipton, who’s running against John Salazar in the 3rd Congressional District, was given “on the radar” status by the NRCC earlier this week.
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if advancement depends on organizational and fundraising benchmarks. You’d think he’s passed the fundraising test, and he’s got a decent organization. Maybe it’s because the seat isn’t as vulnerable as the others?
There are three tiers and candidates appear to have to spend a quarter in each tier. Contender is as high as he can get having announced in October.
CD-7 is tougher for the GOP than CD-4.
There are three tiers and candidates appear to have to spend a quarter in each tier. Contender is as high as he can get having announced in October.
They base this purely on fund raising and internal organization. They will race candidates who they think look promising through the levels if they need to.
The NRCC does not have a lot of money to spread around this year…despite an abundance of seats to target. They are going to have to make some very hard choices and I suspect that this is the beginning of that process. Markey has a 2 to 1 cash on hand advantage and is one of the smartest candidates I’ve ever seen in terms of managing her image and message. Whether Gardner wants to acknowledge it or not, he will have to spend to get out of the primary…he doesn’t have the name ID to skate through without dropping some cash.
And he will walk into a general election against a well liked incumbent, with a large war chest, backed by the DCCC.
I also think Gardner made a big mistake not retiring from the legislature. His press has been nothing but bad since he returned…I suspect the NRCC has been watching that as well.
I’m not seeing the strategy or the money. Since Musgrave hit that district it isn’t the “ole ma and pa” campaign ground it once was. He needs to make some serious cash in this next quarter, shake up management, and develop a clear and strategic message. I don’t see it happening with the manager he has, the money he is raising, or the message he is sending from the State Capitol. Makes OBR very sad.
But DickWad promised he’d get national support.
Tipton was dumb enough to believe it. No young gun for him.
an Armed Tyke?
Tipton was added as “on the radar” this week.
waste his own money
Just wondering… Does Lucero still own any of the pizza places he talks about? Has he owned or managed a business over the past 11 years he has worked as regent?
And is Madere really a “Loveland businessman”? His campaignsite work bio stops at “Territory manager for a Heating and Air Conditioning company.”
Just saying. “Regent” doesn’t have the same ring as “business owner” does it? “Territory manager” also lacks the vague smalltown-America entrepreneurial ring that “businessman” sounds in low-info voter circles.