Wadhams 'advising' Schaffer

But Democrats say divisive figure actually in charge

By Lynn Bartels, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published February 22, 2008 at 12:30 a.m.

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Wadhams says it's natural for party chairman to be involved.

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Republican Party state chairman Dick Wadhams said Thursday he has been "advising" Bob Schaffer's U.S. Senate campaign for months, but Democrats charge that Wadhams actually is running the show.

"That's crazy," Wadhams said.

Schaffer, however, has not named a campaign manager with Election Day less than nine months away.

Schaffer also has taken the unusual position of refusing to discuss issues until he has his official campaign kickoff. Democrats, like political consultant Steve Welchert, say that's vintage Wadhams, who has run races where the candidate keeps quiet while Wadhams goes on the attack.

Wadhams said it's standard for a state party chairman to be involved in the "marquee race" of the election. But Wadhams then was reminded of 1998, when he ran Bill Owens' campaign for governor. The state chairman at the time, Steve Curtis, at one point said he wasn't sure he could even vote for Owens.

"Every state chairman defines their role and what they're going to do," Wadhams said. "I'm probably the most political state chairman we've had in 40 years."

Wadhams in March 2007 took over the reins of the state party, which suffered disastrous losses in two straight election cycles. He relocated the party to an office building in Greenwood Village. Schaffer's campaign headquarters are just down the hall.

"It would seem Dick Wadhams is the de facto campaign manager," said Jennifer Duffy of The Cook Political Report in Washington.

Schaffer, a former congressman from Fort Collins, will likely face Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, of Eldorado Springs, in November.

Schaffer filed to run for office in May, and has been fundraising and talking to mostly Republican voters. Meanwhile, Wadhams is more than happy to paint Udall as a "Boulder liberal" and "U-turn Udall."

Udall also hasn't held his formal announcement, but will take questions about the issues and has been hosting town hall meetings around the state.

Udall's campaign spokeswoman, Taylor West, called Wadhams "the Republican Party's No. 1 attack dog" and predicted a slew of negative attacks.

"By bringing him on, it's a sign that the Schaffer campaign knows he can't win on the issues," she said.

Veteran political and media consultant Walt Klein, of Denver, is serving as Schaffer's campaign adviser until a campaign manager is hired. Even then, Duffy said, Wadhams likely will take the lead.

"He can't help it," Duffy said, with a laugh. "It's in his blood."

Wadhams helped Wayne Allard, of Loveland, win a U.S. Senate seat in 1996, then managed his re-election bid six years later. The candidate seemed almost invisible in 2002, with Wadhams doing most of the talking.

In 2004, Wadhams went to South Dakota to manage the campaign for John Thune, who was trying to unseat Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle. It was Wadhams who went after Daschle while Thune shook hands and smiled.

"Would I have said it that way?" Thune told The New York Times, after one of Wadhams' responses. "Probably not. But that's why I hired Dick."

Thune won a historic victory, but Wadhams couldn't do the same for his next candidate. U.S. Sen. George Allen, R-Va., lost his re-election bid in 2006 after a series of gaffes, including the use of a term deemed racist.

The defeat knocked Allen out as a presidential candidate as well, noted Matt Sugar, Colorado Democratic Party spokesman.

"Bob Schaffer needs all the help he can get," Sugar said, "but I'm not sure Dick Wadhams is the right guy."

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