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April 25, 2017 11:07 AM UTC

Whither Jared For Governor?

  • 25 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols
Rep. Jared Polis.

Peter Marcus’ interview last weekend with Rep. Jared Polis, in which Polis muses about the possibility of running for governor, is not itself newsbreaking–but renewed speculation about Polis making a run for governor in 2018 is nonetheless provoking a fair amount of discussion this week and deserves a mention in this space:

“I’m going to be deciding in the next month or two whether or not to launch a statewide race for governor,” Polis, a five-term congressman for the 2nd Congressional District, told Colorado Politics in his most extensive interview on the subject.

Wearing a blazer and a polo shirt, Polis’ eyes light up as he talks about the possibilities: “I’ve been really focused on where I can make the biggest impact on improving our schools and protecting our environment and how to make these vast changes that are occurring work for Colorado families.

“There’s a lot of frustration out there because people feel that the deck is stacked against them.”

Polis’ entrance into the gubernatorial race – an open seat next year with Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper being term limited – could shakeup an already crowded Democratic primary. He has name recognition and wealth.

There’s no question that Rep. Polis running for governor would shake up the race. We would speculate that Polis getting in would be very bad for the two “lesser” candidates running against Perlmutter, former Sen. Mike Johnston and former Treasurer Cary Kennedy, and would quickly reshape the primary into a two-man contest.

With that said, we’re inclined to give Perlmutter the edge in a matchup between himself and Rep. Polis at this point, in large part due to Perlmutter’s great skill at retail politics–as well as fundraising prowess to match Polis’ ability to self-fund. The caveat we are obliged to note is Polis’ leadership from the left on oil and gas issues, stoutly defending local residential communities in his district who have struggled with drilling inside their boundaries. There is significant pent-up frustration within the Democratic base on this issue, and that could be in Polis’ mind as he contemplates a primary bid against Perlmutter.

It’s important to remember that Polis has not committed to a run, and there are plenty of reasons why he wouldn’t ultimately choose to make the jump from his relatively safe congressional seat to the governor’s race. It’s possible that this is more about pressuring Perlmutter to make a clean break with Gov. John Hickenlooper’s fracking-friendly administration than it is about Polis really wanting to be governor.

Obviously, we’ll be watching closely for developments here.

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25 thoughts on “Whither Jared For Governor?”

  1. Way cool. In the 25 years since Colorado was branded the Hate State thanks to Amendment 2, we have an opportunity to elect the first openly gay governor!

  2. How quickly you've forgotten your (wrong) call on the Denver DA race. The more men in the governor's race, the more benefit to the only woman candidate — Cary Kennedy. The Democratic primary voters who are most pissed about Trump are also Kennedy's most enthusiastic base — women.

    1. Can't you find a gay, Black/Latina to run?

      It does not matter what they say or stand for, if all you care about are labels, that seems like a sure Dem winner.

      1. Yes, it's the Republicans who only vote for qualified candidates, labels be damned! It's just a pity that you think White Males are the only qualified candidates. 

        Hell, given the results of 2016, they don't even have to be qualified…

        1. MB,  you are right.  Polis does have another badge of oppression.  

          Sorry I missed it.

          Must be that my wife and daughter being Jewish has inoculated me to their current oppression in the United States.  In other places and times it would jump out at you, fortunately not so much here and now.

          1. Jared doesn't wear badges of oppression – he fights for justice for the oppressed.  Given his success as an entrepreneur and his philanthropic bent I'd think someone with the pseudo-name Andrew Carnegie would be practically giddy over the possibility of him being your Governor, no? 

            So having a Jewish daughter makes you a kindred spirit with Drumpf.  Perhaps CO is a more friendly place for the Jewish people, Drumpf's stomping grounds, not so much.  

            How do we assure ourselves that you're not a gay Black/Latina looking to get in to the game?

             

            1. It's no guarantee, Michael, but the fact that Carnholio is demonstrably stupid argues against his being a gay/black/Latina.  Usually, only stupid white boys with rich fathers qualify for the kind of affirmative action that got him through Choate and troll school.  How'd that Choate thing work out for you, Carnholio?

                1. Never went to Choate.   But we are now learning exactly what it prepped all those young boys for.

                  As for me, I had to settle for the standard altar boy experience.   In my case, that meant being mentored by wonderful, intelligent, priests who helped deflect the fundamentalist anti-intellectualism of the local protestant churches.   

                  I still remember talking to 
                  Father John Walsh about evolution.   I said that I thought God created man, just as the catechism said, and that evolution was the tool he used.

                  "That's what I think too," he replied.

                   

                   

          2. So doesn't it disgust you that the president has such a rabid anti-Semitic bigot as his senior counsel?

            How can you extoll the virtues of ALT-right and look your wife and daughter in the eyes? You really are something else….

            1. R and R:

              If he did it might cause some concern.

              He doesn't, so it causes no concern.

              I enjoy Bannon and read Breitbart.com every day.

              Andrew Breitbart was Jewish and many of the employees of Breitbart.com are Jewish.  The truth does not fit well with your narrative, but it is still the truth.

               

      3. How about an incurious, conflict-ridden, orange-hued, sex-predator, scion with conspiratorial inclination and authoritarian fantasies? 

  3. I have my pretty strong disagreements with Jared on a few issues that I won't get into here.  

    What I think sets Jared apart from many other politicians on either side of the aisle in Colorado is that he repeatedly (and intelligently!) attempts to tackle complicated issues and take the lead on them in an extremely authentic and honest way.  

    In the current political environment these are massively important traits. To be blunt, our country faces a pronounced threat to our constitutional system of checks and balances through the Trump presidency. Having a leader that thinks the Presidency is not only not subject to ethics rules but also an office that should not be subject to the Courts makes this a political moment unlike many others. In this environment counting on a partisan federal legislature to be a check is simply not realistic. Nor can we count on the Courts which are very cautious by nature at the Circuit and Supreme Court level. If we are to check the growing rot of abuse of the presidency it must be done at the STATE level with a highly intelligent and fearless governor leading the way.

    Can one of you pick a governor that would be better than Polis at that job from your side of the aisle? With all due respect to Perlmutter, I just don’t see him having the same needed traits AT THIS MOMENT as Jared has. And for those on my loose side of the aisle, we must wrestle with the serious question of whether ANY Republican will be willing to stand up to the President and protect federalism in this highly charged partisan environment, especially when it will be to their career advantage to support the Presidency over the Constitution. So on these bases, Jared Polis strikes me as a VERY strong gubnetorial choice.

    Now is he as charismatic as Perlmutter?  As polished as Cory Gardner?  In agreement with me as much as say Shawn Mitchell (before his recently disclosed issues) was?  No, no, and no.  But those aren’t the traits this State needs AT THIS TIME. We need somebody who isn’t going to get a career advantage by supporting Trump. Somebody who is fearless enough to oppose him. And somebody who is smart and creative enough to look for unorthodox ways to protect our Constitutional system in these trying times. If you are looking for a leader of substance that has these traits and can be a governor for all of Colorado and not just those that are his base or his party, Jared would be a really strong choice. 

        1. He talked about "personal demons" making him miss deadlines for a client.   Sounds like depression. He has my best wishes because I have fought that battle myself.

  4. Elliot Fladen just endorsed a Democrat for Governor. Trump, what hath thou wrought? (Good on you, Elliot, for putting country over party).

    I mostly agree. I'd like to see Jared win. Perlmutter may be more electable state wide. There isn't much to choose from between the two regarding their votes on tthe TPP and the Keystone pipeline – both voted no on those bills.

    I think that Polis is better on Colorado's cannabis industry than Perlmutter, and maybe better on being anti-fracking. It's harder to tell on that, since Polis helped to withdraw all those citizen initiatives and gave us a toothless Governor's Blue Ribbon Commission instead.

    Bottom line, I'd vote for Polis in a primary, and for whichever one gets the nomination in the general.

     

    1. To be clear the above is not an endorsement.  I don't feel comfortable going that far (nor as a private citizen do I really see the point or value in me “endorsing” people) as I am friends with Jared and that compromises my impartiality to a significant degree.

      Instead, it is just me ticking off traits on what I think a governor should have at this grave Constitutional moment and why I think Jared uniquely (for your side of the aisle) fits that bill.  I leave it to you all to see if you agree with my logic or not

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