GOP rallies behind McInnis for Colo. governor

DENVER - Scott McInnis will receive the endorsement of a past challenger and one who toyed with challenging him on Monday morning at an event designed to bring Colorado's Republicans together in an effort to win the Governor's Mansion next year.

State Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry (R-Grand Junction) and former Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colorado) will support McInnis, who will embrace what's being called a "Contract with Colorado" that outlines a series of conservative principles.

The group will be joined by former Gov. Bill Owens (R-Colorado) and the State House Minority Leader Mike May (R-Parker) at a business in Northeast Denver. The gathering is the result of efforts by Penry to put past personality and policy issues aside between his former boss, McInnis, and some of the state's leading Republicans. Evergreen businessman Dan Maes is also a candidate on the Republican ticket.

"The Republicans picked the oldest candidate they have to lead them to the future, and now are using a 16-year-old platform to attract voters," Pat Waak, chair of the Colorado Democratic Party, said. "Coloradans have always looked forward and not to the past, and won't accept a warmed over platform that Congressional Republicans thought up nearly two decades ago."

Contacted by e-mail on Sunday afternoon about whether he was dropping out of the race and would endorse his former colleague in Congress, Tancredo wrote, "Get ready for a beautiful rendition of Kumbaya."

"The summit tomorrow is a big deal in politics and policy for Colorado," Sen. Greg Brophy (R-Wray) said in an e-mail to 9NEWS. "Citizens of Colorado will witness a coalescing of Republicans around a set of conservative principles and objectives that will become a 'Contract with Colorado.' They will see a bright distinction between what conservatives stand for and will commit to do as opposed to a clear observation of what the Democrats have done while holding all of the power in Colorado and for that matter, the nation. People are ready for results and not excuses; we are offering the path to results."

The move allows McInnis to focus his energies on defeating Gov. Bill Ritter (D-Colorado) in November 2010 rather than facing a primary opponent like Penry or Tancredo. Penry endorsed McInnis in their hometown newspaper in Grand Junction on Sunday morning and in an e-mail sent to his campaign supporters.

"My endorsement of Scott is an enthusiastic one - it comes on the heels of two weeks of talks between Scott and I, as well as other leaders in local government, the state legislature, and leading Republican names like Tom Tancredo," Penry wrote. "Those talks resulted in a common-sense conservative reform agenda that will be unveiled in the coming days - it's a governing vision that will get Colorado's economy moving again, and at long last rally the Colorado Republican Party on the principles and priorities that make us strong."

Among the items included in the "Contract With Colorado" are commitments to veto any bill or oppose any referendum or initiative that seeks to increase taxes or relax any spending cap, a rescinding of the executive order that allowed for state workers to become unionized, reducing the number of state workers, conducting a review of all state departments, agencies, boards and commissions and consolidating or eliminating them if necessary and appointing "reform-minded conservatives and new leaders who will bring a fresh perspective to state government."

Numerous Republicans including Penry and Tancredo had called on McInnis to more clearly articulate a "governing philosophy" if he were to be elected governor and a campaign spokesman told 9NEWS last week that McInnis saw Penry dropping out of the race as an "extraordinary opportunity...to unite Republicans."

Contacted by e-mail on Sunday afternoon, Colorado Republican Party Chairman Dick Wadhams wrote, "I must remain neutral under our bylaws but I am very pleased that Scott McInnis has taken of the advantage afforded to him with Josh's withdrawal to give more definition to his campaign agenda."

Governor Bill Ritter, a Democrat, held a news conference Sunday night leading up to Monday's Republican announcement. He said the he would let his actions speak for themselves.

"There's gonna be a great contrast I think between the way we're governing and what the Republicans have to offer up," said Ritter. "There will be a really definite contrast and we're absolutely willing to have the people of our state look at our record and understand that leading forward is very different then going to sort of politics of the past, the 80, 90s and saying this is where we want the state to go back to."