Darryl Glenn’s failure to launch in Colorado’s U.S. Senate race worries fellow Republicans
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 started, show “Michael Bennet beating you by double-digit 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 re-election 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.
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2016 Republican Senate Candidate Darryl Glenn laughs during the Colorado Springs stop of the GOP Unity Tour at the El Paso County Republican Headquarters on Saturday, July 9, 2016. Photo by Ryan Jones, The Gazette.