Republicans concerned about defeating Bennet
U.S. Senate candidate Darryl Glenn’s campaign appears to be losing momentum.
lakewood » Toward the end of an event at Colorado Christian University last week, a student stood to ask U.S. Senate candidate Darryl Glenn a question.
He identified himself as a “proud supporter of you from Day 1,” but now he is concerned about the Republican’s campaign against Democrat Michael Bennet.
The recent polls, he said, show Bennet “beating you by doubledigit numbers. We know polls aren’t always reliable, but it’s gotten worrying because I want you to win.” What’s the plan? he asked.
The question is one on the minds of an increasing number of Republicans and party strategists in Colorado who are becoming concerned about squandering a chance to defeat a once-vulnerable Bennet, who is the only incumbent Democrat facing reelection in a battleground state.
In convincing fashion, Glenn won the five-way Republican primary in June and scored a coveted speaking slot at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. But now he appears to have lost any momentum behind his campaign, and the national party is offering only modest help.
The missed opportunity to hold Bennet accountable for supporting the Iran nuclear deal is an often-cited example. Another: Glenn’s apparent inability to reach beyond Republican voters.
“Part of what a candidate has to accomplish after a primary is to convince people you can win, and Darryl hasn’t done that yet,” said Josh Penry, a prominent Republican strategist in Colorado who is not involved in the race.
“I’m just not sure what happened here,” said Sean Duffy, a veteran Republican communications consultant. “You would think that a gentleman with his or-
atorical skills and background — you would think there would be more of a footprint there.”
Glenn dismisses such criticism, as evidenced by his lighthearted reply to the student’s question at the event, hosted by the conservative Centennial Institute in Lakewood. “They have not been able to poll me this entire time,” he said. “The best poll that I have is the fact that Michael Bennet sent my mother a fundraising letter showing the race is in single digits.”
The majority of polls show Bennet with a double-digit lead, but his exaggerated fundraising pitch is common practice. Glenn’s underdog campaign did catch Colorado politicos by surprise when he emerged as the only candidate from the Republican state convention. But a number of private polls showed Glenn as the likely winner in the primary, even if they didn’t predict a 13-point margin of victory.
Two months later, Glenn’s schedule suggests he remains focused on winning his party’s support, leading more than one GOP consultant to joke that he is still pursuing the Republican nomination, rather than a general election win.
The same day Glenn spoke at the conservative-minded univer- sity, where he received questions on abortion and Donald Trump, he attended a Jefferson County Republican cookout. A day later, he spoke at the Colorado Oil and Gas Association conference and Lincoln Club of Colorado, a Denver-based Republican organization.
In August, according to his public calendar and campaign sites, Glenn attended Republican Party events in Douglas, Pitkin and El Paso counties and spoke to the Republican National Lawyers Association and Red State Gathering, a conservative conference.
“I hope he pivots to the general and works really hard there,” said Jeff Hunt, the Centennial Institute director who hosted Glenn. “I think he’s smart enough to spend time with independents and moderates.”
His public events are likely only a slice of his total schedule. But the campaign is not following the traditional path to reaching new voters with television advertisements or statewide tours to generate attention.
“It’s partially a resources challenge for him,” Penry said, citing Glenn’s limited campaign fundraising. “If you don’t have the resources to push yourself to the broader level, it’s harder to be known more broadly.”
Glenn declined to talk to The Denver Post after the Lakewood event Tuesday. “My press secretary back there will handle all Denver Post questions,” he said, repeating the same line four times when asked other questions.
Glenn did not explain why he is blacklisting Colorado’s largest newspaper, but in an interview Thursday with KFKA talk radio, he appeared to link his decision to The Post’s coverage of his conflicting explanations of a 1983 third-degree assault charge, which was later dropped.
“The Denver Post, and quite frankly the people that are covering this, when they flat-out call you a liar, instead of becoming journalists, they become advocates,” he said. “I think that’s totally unacceptable. So I’m drawing a very bright line.”
The coverage of the incident did not call him “a liar.” A campaign spokeswoman did not immediately respond to questions Friday.
His objections to speaking with a Post reporter also came moments after the organizers of the Centennial Institute event publicly thanked the newspaper and other reporters for attending.
Glenn’s decision — which drew criticism from Republicans and Democrats — and other missteps are disturbing to GOP strategists in Colorado, but many still hope he can regain his footing.
“The Labor Day magic moment comes next week,” Duffy said. “So I think everybody wants to see things begin to pop.”