May 22, 2014 05:22 PM UTC

Lang Sias Wishes He Was "Tea Party Endorsed" Again

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• by: Colorado Pols

Trying hard to stay ahead of his Rocky Mountain Gun Owners-endorsed opponent, GOP SD-19 candidate Lang Sias is busily knocking doors of Republican households in the district, burnishing his "Tea Party" credentials. Here's a campaign flyer being distributed by his campaign:

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There is much other evidence of spending on this primary, like fluff billboards going up in various parts of SD-19 (right). Clearly there's much nervousness in the Sias campaign, and in turn among Republican strategists hoping to take the Colorado Senate this November.

It's important to note that Sias' relationship with the kind of hard-right voters who often decide Republican primaries in Colorado has been rocky to say the least: back in 2012, Sias was lampooned on national news for recycling photos from his 2010 campaign–with his previous tagline "Tea Party endorsed" Photoshopped out of the picture (photo top). This year, RMGO has Sias squarely in their (hopefully) proverbial sights, bitterly denouncing his lack of commitment to the gun rights cause:

Lang Sias, a handpicked liberal establishment Republican, has chosen to run a primary against Laura.

If you've heard his name before, it may be because Sias has already attempted and failed to run for office twice in the last two election cycles.

In fact, every time he's ran for office, he's refused to fill out RMGO's candidate survey, which is almost always a sure tell sign that if elected, he would vote anti-gun.

But wait, it gets worse.

Not only did Sias refuse to answer RMGO's survey in the past, he also refused multiple times to sign the petition to recall Hudak — HE FLAT OUT REFUSED TO SIGN IT! [Pols emphasis]

On the other side, pseudo-grassroots GOP elements like Bob Beauprez's 2013 recall operative Laura Carno have endorsed Sias. Frankly, there's no overstating the power of RMGO in the one environment they have consistently proven effective time and time again: a Republican primary. Before Sias gets his mulligan shot at SD-19 in 2014 against Sen. Rachel Zenzinger, he has to get past Laura "Waters" Woods–and RMGO's Dudley Brown has a long record of frustrating the GOP establishment's best-laid plans.