UPDATE: Longtime Colorado politicos may remember that Lopez ran for State Senate (SD-30) back in 2000 and lost to John Evans after a pretty meek campaign.
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Republicans have unearthed another candidate for U.S. Senate in 2016, as Lynn Bartels reports for the Denver Post blog “The Spot”:
Greg Lopez, the former director of the Small Business Administration in Colorado, announced Monday he plans to run for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate.
Lopez said he’s not worried that other Republicans, including U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman of Aurora and state Sen. Ellen Roberts of Durango, have already said “no” to challenging Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet next year.
A former Mayor of Parker, Lopez tells Bartels that “His Democratic friends have told him they would back him publicly and financially if he ran for office,” though we can’t imagine those friends ever thought Lopez might run for United States Senate. Lopez is bilingual and has served 10 years on the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, and along with his time with he SBA, he has an interesting resume…on paper.
Lopez is probably a better Republican candidate than Darryl Glenn — though that isn’t a very high bar to clear — but he’s certainly not a game-changer who will pose a serious threat to Democratic incumbent Sen. Michael Bennet. Put it this way: If your campaign announcement for Senate is only picked up by the political blog of the Denver Post, you’re obviously not generating a lot of buzz or excitement.
It also doesn’t help Lopez that he left the U.S. Small Business Administration in April 2014 “because of clashes with his bosses in Washington over the Veterans Administration hospital project in Aurora that was beset by cost overruns…” Being involved in the mess that is the VA Hospital project in Aurora should be a big bonus!
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I wonder what Greg Lopez thinks of his party's candidate, The Donald Trump, and his comments about the rapists and murderers coming over the Mexican border……
You can be sure he'll be asked.
Mongo says all r's bad. All d's good. Mongo no like Lopez. Mongo like Bennet.
One positive thing about Mr. Lopez is that the man has zero social media footprint. He's been District Director in the SBA, has spoken at various venues., resigned from the SBA….but as far as posting dumb stuff on Facebook, Twitter, or having an embarrassingly contradictory history on LinkedIn….nada. No accounts, no profiles I can find.
I wonder if that was one of his selling points. But the election season is young…plenty of time to say stupid things he'll regret.
Lopez has been getting some mainstream press – unfortunately, he has used it to tiptoe around the issues, trying to run on identity. "I'm not your typical Republican rich Ivy League lawyer," he told ABC news.
Lopez does have a compelling biography – son of immigrant workers, growing up in a big Colorado family, put himself through school, built businesses, champion of small business, etc.
But the only issue he's taken a stand on is immigration.He's in favor of letting immigrants stay in the United States.
Gay marriage? "Jury's still out". Uh, news flash, the Supremes say it's legal across USA.
Is a fertilized egg a person? "Don't know enough about it."
Yeah. Be all things to all Republicans. Please the corporate business wing, the social conservatives, and the libertarians. That worked out so well for Steve House.