March 31, 2014 12:29 PM UTC

Bentley Rayburn Running Against Lamborn. Again

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• by: Colorado Pols

We're not entirely surprised to see this, given that Rep. Doug Lamborn has been only slightly more effective than a desk lamp during his time in Congress. We're also not surprised to see retired major-general Bentley Rayburn taking another run at Lamborn, despite two failed attempts in 2006 and 2008. But we are surprised that Rayburn is just making this decision public now, with less than two weeks to go until the Republican Assembly in CD-5.

As Lynn Bartels reports at "The Spot":

“It’s a free country,” Lamborn told The Denver Post tonight when asked about Rayburn’s late decision to enter the race. “But I feel very good about things.”

Rayburn invited delegates and alternates to his home today and through the week to discuss why he plans to challenge Lamborn, a former state senator and an attorney.

“Please, please come to what will be one of the most important political meetings of this election season,” Rayburn wrote…

…The CD5 assembly is April 11 in Broomfield. Lamborn and Bentley must get 30 percent of the delegate vote to get on the ballot.

Rayburn said there is a huge concern in Colorado Springs about military bases closing. The Democrats, he pointed out, are running retired two-star general Irv Halter, “who is a great guy.”

Ordinarily we'd scoff at an attempt to get onto the ballot with less than two weeks to prepare, but Doug Lamborn and CD-5 are not ordinary examples. Lamborn is not particularly well-liked among Republicans, and he's done very little to ingratiate himself among GOP voters over the last few years. Rayburn can probably get at least 30% of the assembly votes on April 11 — enough to make it into the June Primary — by virtue of not being Lamborn. Whether or not he can defeat Lamborn in a Primary is a different story, but with Congressional disapproval at an all-time low among voters, 2014 is as good a year as any.