As the Colorado Sun’s Jesse Paul reports today, but we told you was coming back in September:
Former state Rep. Lang Sias, a Republican, is reentering politics with a bid to unseat Colorado Treasurer Dave Young, a Democrat, next year…
Sias has been out of politics since 2018 when he was the running mate for Colorado Republican gubernatorial candidate Walker Stapleton. Stapleton lost to Democratic Gov. Jared Polis by 11 percentage points.
Before serving as Walker Stapleton’s co-loser on the 2018 gubernatorial ticket, thus prematurely ending his legislative career, longtime Republican also-ran Lang Sias had finally managed to hold a Jefferson County Colorado House seat to which he was appointed in 2015–as a consolation prize by party brass after losing the Republican nomination in Senate District 19 in 2014 to infamous far-right Republican Laura Waters-Woods. Sias stepped down from contention for federal office in 2010 after losing the CD-7 primary to fellow perennial loser Ryan Frazier.
Lang Sias’ many sacrifices as a loyal soldier of the “establishment” wing of the Colorado Republican Party have been a metaphor for the party’s inability to control its own fate in recent years. With that said, Sias has never struck us as particularly inspiring as a candidate, and his lack of success could as easily be attributable to just plain sucking as a political figure as much as any other factor. After running in Colorado five times for four different seats and winning only the one he had already been appointed to, no Republican in Colorado has been given so much boosting only to squander it.
Lang Sias 2022, folks! Because the sixth time’s a charm.
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I don't know. Yeah, Lang's track record sucks, and I'm not going to vote for him. But, he's not even close to the worst the GOP has to offer. For that reason, I'm hard-pressed to bag on him to the extent this headline does here. Or to the extent that I bag on most Republicans.
If a lot more Repubs were like him, things might be a little more sane these days.
But that's why he doesn't stand a chance, again, Unnamed. He's not even half crazy enough for the CO GQP, and he seems like a nice enough fellow. See? Not their kind at all.
I agree completely with your statement. Just calling him "loser of losers" seems a little excessive, even if there is some truth to it.
There will be plenty of Lame Sighs from Republicans in this race.
Here's probably the second-most down-ballot low-publicity state race of them all, second only to an at-large CU Regent race. In other words, don't expect everyday people on the street to know anything about Sias' last 6 races or for that matter Dave Young's experience. Voting could easily be a game-day decision for many, unless folks do a great job with spreading the word.
Hope there is a combined campaign effort to insure Colorado voters don’t decide to cast a “pity vote” for one of the 4 statewide government offices.
I’m not convinced Colorado is fully blue after electing Democrats for Governor/Lt.Gov,, AG, Sec of State and Treasurer in 2018, plus Senator in 2020.. Bennet appears likely to benefit by an opponent being unproven and unable to get a competitive campaign budget; Polis and his bankroll is nearly certain; Weiser seems to be in a good place. Young and Griswold become targets for “we don’t want all Democrats” voters. If Republicans in the primary can support sane and sensible candidates rather than those from the 3% & RWNJ stable, the two down-ballot candidates are going to be in a serious race.
Lang Sias was at Tailhook in 1991. He was an officer, brought there by his CO Frick. The Navy has a code of conduct that mistreatment of subordinates is not to be tolerated. Yet, by Sias' own report, he walked through the halls where women were getting forcibly groped, assaulted, handed down the "mosh pit" halls. He hung out in the Topgun suite, where public sex was happening.
He had to have seen it all. Yet somehow, none of that ever made it into any report. He was all "Saw no evil, Heard no evil, what evil?", in his report. He has said of himself that he was innocent of any wrongdoing. Yet there is also no report in any of the literature or reports (see below) of Sias trying to stop any misbehavior, or of indeed saying anything at the time. He covered up everything, and got away squeaky clean.
Is this willfully blind milquetoast the guy you want overseeing Colorado's budget? I think not.
OIG report Tailhook 91 – Part 1
OIG Report Tailhook 91 – Part 2
Mother of all Hooks, by McMichael, William (ebook on Google Books) References to Lang Sias in the at the Tailhook Convention in 1991: pages 198-202, 209-210, TOPGUN suite 168-170
Lang Sias is a decent man who has fought some tough fights without joining the cesspool that is today’s Republican Party.
That said Dave Young is a fine treasurer, whose backgrounds on the Joint Budget Committee give him keen insights uinto Colorado’s fiscal issues. I’ve sent him money via Act Blue and will do so again.
Don’t forget this office is a springboard to the governorship, as Owens and Romer proved.
Don't forget that every single office down to dogcatcher is prone to becoming a target of the winguts to turn into some arcane path to destroying democracy.
You nailed it, MM
Stapleton tried to prove it too. Failed spectacularly. But, yeah. You're right.
And Gail Schoetttler. Four recent nominees for gov came from treasurer.
Dave Young has said he is not looking for his next political job, and just wants to do a good job as Treasurer. I’m all for that.
If the QOP, conversely, actually wins an office higher than CU regent, that would doubtless become its base for building a Trumpist Fascist state.