South Jefferson County News

Denver Gazette recently issued the following announcement.

Danielle Neuschwanger, the Elbert County rancher who lost her bid earlier this month for a spot in Colorado's Republican gubernatorial primary, said on Saturday that she is running on a third-party ticket — despite objections by some Republicans that her campaign will split the conservative vote and boost chances of Democratic Gov. Jared Polis winning a second term.

After accepting the nomination for governor Saturday morning from the state's American Constitution Party, one of Colorado's officially recognized minor political parties, Neuschwanger made the announcement at an afternoon campaign event in Douglas County. 

"Now, I get to represent all Americans everywhere in Colorado, because your voice matters," Neuschwanger told a supportive crowd gathered at Tailgate Tavern in downtown Parker.

She's running against Polis and the winner of a two-way June primary for the GOP nomination between Heidi Ganahl, a University of Colorado regent, and Greg Lopez, a former mayor of Parker who came in third in the Republicans' 2018 gubernatorial primary.

Neuschwanger's move comes a dozen years after former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo briefly left the Republican Party to make an unsuccessful run for governor under the same minor party's banner, receiving more than three times as many votes as the GOP nominee.

A first-time candidate, Neuschwanger finished short of the required 30% delegate support needed to make this year's Republican primary ballot earlier this month at the state GOP assembly in Colorado Springs, receiving 27% of the vote. Lopez won top line on the primary ballot with just over 34% of the vote, followed by Ganahl, who received about 33% and who had earlier also qualified by petition.

"We have a two-party system that is constantly pushing us against each other, pointing fingers at each other and laying the blame and saying, 'it's your fault,' 'it's your fault,' 'it's your fault,'" Neuschwanger said. "Well, here's the thing: Today, we all get to choose to unite America once more. We get to choose to be American patriots, constitutional conservatives, together, whether you live in urban Colorado or rural Colorado. Today is the day that we fix America."

She told Colorado Politics she changed her registration on Thursday, making her eligible for appointment at the party's vacancy committee meeting.

Neuschwanger introduced her pick for a running mate, Aurora truck driver and Air Force veteran Darryl Gibbs, who also sought the Republican nomination for governor earlier this month. He finished in fourth place at the assembly behind Neuschwanger with about 4% of the delegate vote.

"Are you all sick and tired of everybody, all these politicians lying to you?" Gibbs asked the crowd. "Are you sick and tired of having to choose? 'Wait a minute, do I have to pick a Republican or do I have to pick a Democrat?' Are you sick and tired of that? Right now, this is a time for all of us to just look at everyone in Colorado that's on either side of the fence and say, 'Come and join us!' Because we're here for the people of Colorado."

Introducing Neuschwanger as "my cowgirl and the people's next governor," her father, Ken Falduto, who runs a large cattle ranch in southern Colorado, dismissed complaints that his daughter's candidacy will make it more difficult for the Republican nominee to unseat Polis.

"You are going to hear people say she is splitting the Republican vote. That is BS. It is time for the people to take back their state and vote for the person who is genuine and has their six," Falduto told the crowd, using a term that means to have someone's back.

Added Falduto: "It does not matter if they have a D or an R or something else behind their name. It is time to vote for the person not the party."

A spokesman for the Colorado Republicans shrugged at word Neuschwanger had made her third-party bid official.

“Our state is more expensive and less safe under the failed leadership of Jared Polis," Joe Jackson, the state GOP's executive director, said in a text message. "We plan to replace him in November with a Republican governor. We aren’t concerned about the numerous possible third-party candidates, all of whom have less than 1% name ID. Republicans will be united behind our nominee.”

A spokeswoman for Ganahl's campaign sounded equally nonchalant in a statement to Colorado Politics, but the candidate spelled out Neuschwanger's potential threat more candidly in a radio appearance on Saturday morning. 

"We are proud and humbled by the overwhelming support for Heidi that continues to grow," Lexi Swearingen, a Ganahl campaign spokeswoman, said in a text message. "We look forward to running on Republican kitchen table issues and beating Jared Polis in November."

Ganahl discussed Neuschwanger's rumored party switch and gubernatorial campaign with KNUS host Randy Corporon, 9News reported.

“I believe Danielle believes in the principles that we hold and that we share and I hope that she’ll join us in our effort to take back our state to beat Jared Polis," Ganahl said. "And running on a third party isn’t going to help that.”

In 2010, Tancredo, who had served five terms in the U.S. House and mounted a brief presidential campaign, dropped his registration as a Republican to accept the American Constitution Party's nomination after he failed to persuade former U.S. Rep. Scott McInnis and Evergreen businessman Dan Maes to withdraw from the GOP primary amid mounting scandals that were engulfing both candidates.

After Maes won the Republican nomination, Tancredo received 37% of the vote to Maes' 11%, but Democrat John Hickenlooper won the race with 51%. Tancredo returned to the Republican Party months later and went on to mount two more unsuccessful campaigns for governor, most recently in 2018.

According to the Colorado Secretary of State's Office, the American Constitution Party accounted for 11,626 of the state's 3.7 million active registered members on April 1, behind the Libertarian Party's 40,089 members but larger than the Green Party, the Approval Voting Party and the Unity Party, the state's other recognized minor parties.

The designation allows the parties to nominate candidates straight to the November ballot without having to petition on, like candidates belonging to even smaller parties and unaffiliated candidates must.

Neuschwanger isn't the only third-party gubernatorial candidate bound for Colorado's November ballot. As of Saturday, three of the state's other minor political parties had named nominees — the Libertarians, the Unity Party and the Approval Voting Party.

Another 11 unaffiliated candidates have filed paperwork to run for governor, though they'll each have to gather 8,000 signatures from registered voters, with at least 1,000 from each of the state's congressional districts. Unaffiliated candidates can start circulating petitions on May 19 and must turn them in by July 14.

Original source can be found here.