Lamborn seeking Crank endorsement

Lynn Bartels, Rocky Mountain News

Monday, October 2, 2006

Republican Doug Lamborn, running in the 5th Congressional District, waited until last week to formally ask his chief primary rival for his endorsement.

Lamborn met with Jeff Crank, who came in second to Lamborn in a bitter, six-man primary.

Pundits say it's unusual for a candidate this late to be seeking primary endorsements, and it signals that continuing speculation about endorsements has become a problem for Lamborn's campaign.

Lamborn, an attorney and state senator, faces retired Air Force Lt. Col. Jay Fawcett in November. Both are from Colorado Springs, the heart of the 5th Congressional District.

Lamborn said Sunday he waited to approach Crank until "some of the heated feelings of the primary would have a chance to die down."

Crank said he didn't give Lamborn an immediate answer, but he assured the candidate that he wanted "the Republican team" to win in November.

"I told Doug I'm not going to do anything to oppose him, but that I guard my endorsements pretty zealously. I just don't hand them out," Crank said.

"When it comes to a personal endorsement, my name means something to me. I spent a career trying to build that name. There were people who tried to take that away, and they were unsuccessful in that."

During the primary, political groups that supported Lamborn ran attack ads against Crank that were later pulled from TV and radio because they distorted Crank's record on taxes and gay issues.

The chairman of one of those groups is the brother of Lamborn's campaign manager, fueling speculation that Lamborn was somehow linked to the attacks. Lamborn's campaign has said they were not behind the ads.

Crank declined to discuss the concerns he outlined to the candidate when the two met last Thursday, and Lamborn also talked only in generalities.

"We had a great talk, and I'm going to talk to him some more," Lamborn said.

Lamborn and Fawcett are seeking to succeed U.S. Rep. Joel Hefley of Colorado Springs, who is retiring.

Hefley has refused to endorse Lamborn, saying he ran "one of the sleaziest, most dishonest campaigns I've seen in a long time."

Whether that translates into voters for Fawcett remains to be seen.

Republicans outnumber Democrats by more than 2 to 1 in the 5th District, and the unaffiliated voters also lean right. No Democrat has won the seat since it was created in 1972.

But Democrats say Fawcett's résumé makes him a strong candidate. He is an Air Force Academy graduate and a defense contractor, crucial credentials in such a military-heavy district.

GOP political consultant Katy Atkinson said she thinks Lamborn's biggest worry is not Fawcett, but the chance of a primary two years from now. She believes that's part of the decision to reach out to Crank, a consultant, former Hefley aide and rising star in the Republican Party.

"All these column inches have been written about the disgruntled Republicans in El Paso County," Atkinson said. "Clearly, Lamborn's campaign saw a problem and is trying to address it."

But another primary rival, former El Paso County Sheriff John Anderson, said he won't endorse Lamborn.

"Of all of the six candidates, his campaign was the one responsible for the most unethical behavior, the one that followed the biggest pattern of distortion," Anderson said.

"And of all the candidates, he had the least to offer, in my opinion."

Anderson said he also was concerned about an e-mail sent from Lamborn's Washington fundraising consultant right after the primary election.

The e-mail erroneously stated all of Lamborn's opponents had endorsed him, and noted Lamborn's campaign was $100,000 in debt.

"He spent with reckless abandon during the campaign and yet touts being a fiscal conservative," Anderson said.

No matter who wins in November, Anderson said he believes the victor will only serve one term.

Asked about Anderson's criticism, Lamborn said, "He wished he would have won. That goes with the territory."

But another primary candidate, former El Paso County Commissioner Ducan Bremer, also has been publicly critical of Lamborn. Bremer could not be reached for comment.

Lamborn downplayed endorsements, saying, "Voters are kind of blasé about endorsements, to be perfectly frank." But the next minute, he touted the presence of two other primary opponents, Colorado Springs Mayor Lionel Rivera and Bentley Rayburn, at his news conference Saturday.

Lamborn announced that U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert has promised to do "everything possible" to get Lamborn on the armed services committee if Republicans keep control of the House. Such an appointment is vital in the 5th.

Neither Rivera nor Rayburn could be reached for comment.

bartels@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5327