"Tom supports legal immigration and opposes illegal immigration," Tancredo campaign manager Brian Dotterer said. "Tom's opposition to illegal immigration has everything to do with the economic burden that places on our country, the fact that illegal immigrants dilute opportunity for legal immigrants and the rule of law. It has nothing to do with race."
Gessler counters that he's trying enforce election laws, and he points to radio and television ads he's done in Spanish telling people how to register to vote.
DENVER (AP) — No matter who Republicans pick as their party's candidate in the primaries Tuesday,Cheap NFL Jerseys, they are expected to face an uphill battle In their quest to unseat Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper.
Tancredo's campaign said it has seen polling showing support from Hispanics.
"Republicans need to learn that if you don't have a seat at the table, you're on the menu," Witwer said. "The only way to be at the table is by nominating a strong candidate."
Despite his devastating 2006 defeat, Beauprez said he's optimistic that the current political environment in Colorado has changed and, like the other GOP candidates, he hopes to capitalize on what they say is an administration that has overreached with gun-control laws and higher renewable-energy standards.
Rob Witwer, a former GOP state representative, said Hickenlooper "will be very tough to beat for any Republican," but that the party must unite "behind a strong candidate who can be successful in November."
Tancredo's history advocating for stricter immigration enforcement — and a long list of incendiary comments he has made on the topic — will alienate Hispanic voters, he said. "Tom has spent the last two decades poking his finger in the eyes of the Hispanic community," Gessler said.
Beauprez lost to Democrat Bill Ritter by 17 points in 2006. Tancredo lost to Hickenlooper in 2010, when Tancredo briefly switched parties and ran as the Constitution Party nominee over displeasure about the GOP pick that year: Dan Maes, a political newcomer and tea-party favorite who only got 11 percent of the vote in the race.
Beauprez said he's more seasoned this time around. "Anybody who doesn't learn from losing their toe, popping themselves in the nose, going through a tough time, anybody who doesn't learn from that shouldn't be in the game at all," he said.
Tancredo has raised the most money with $792,778, followed by Gessler with $534,812. Beauprez has raised $306,499, in addition to loaning himself about $500,000. Kopp has raised $266,347.
"I feel like voters have a right to know what your convictions are," he said.
But Gessler himself has faced criticism from Democrats, in his capacity as the state's elections chief, over his efforts to try to remove noncitizens from voter registration rolls. His critics have accused him of putting barriers for immigrants to vote.
Kopp will be the first name on the primary ballot because of his performance in the state party assembly, but by his own admission he has the underdog candidacy. Among the four,Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys, he's the only one who has never run a statewide campaign.
He's also quick to use a sports analogy.
Republicans have avoided mud-slinging for the most part this primary. But Gessler has seized on the failed bids of Beauprez and Tancredo to argue that they don't "have a very good chance of winning."
"None of them are perfect. But then again the governor's isn't either," Atkinson said. "Again,Wholesale Jerseys, that's why they really need the money to get out there and change the nature of the conversation."
In all,Wholesale Jerseys Online, the primary campaign has been a relatively low-key affair, and that's likely because none of the candidates has been able to raise much money to inundate the airwaves, said Katy Atkinson, a Republican political strategist.
He's also been unwavering in his stance against abortion, even though that can cost him votes in November. But Kopp said he thinks "people respect when a candidate is being forthright with them about their views,cheap nfl jerseys outlet, especially as it relates to items of conscience."
It's a matter of whether the GOP chooses to go with familiar faces with previous failed gubernatorial candidacies— former U.S. Rep. Bob Beauprez, who was crushed in his 2006 bid, and firebrand Tom Tancredo, a former congressman known mostly for his hard-hitting stance on illegal immigration — or less experienced members of the party's political establishment. Those candidates are current Secre
