Tom Tancredo Re-Endorses Scott Gessler For Secretary Of State After Poll Shows Strong ACP Performance

For all the talk of Tom Tancredo's surprising gubernatorial success costing the Colorado GOP its major-party status in 2012, little has been written on the effects that the American Constitution Party Candidate (ACP) could have on the GOP this year.

As the Coloradoan's Bob Moore pointed out Monday, there's reason to suspect that Tancredo's unprecedented success on the ACP ticket could be buoying down-ballot ACP candidates at the expense of the GOP.

On Monday morning, Tancredo reaffirmed his support for Scott Gessler, the GOP nominee for Secretary of state, even though he had already announced his support for Gessler months ago.

"Like me, Scott has the courage to challenge the establishment," said Tancredo in a release.. "I've known Scott for years, and he fights for conservative values, regardless of party label."

Tancredo's re-endorsement comes on the heels of a Denver Post/9News survey showing Amanda Campbell, the American Constitution Party Candidate for Secretary of State, polling at 11%.

By comparison, in 2006, ACP gubernatorial candidate Clyde J. Harkins received just 0.62% of the vote in his gubernatorial bid. Besides Tancredo and Campbell, the ACP is not running any other candidates for statewide office this year.

The 9News/Denver Post poll still showed Gessler up 38-33 over incumbent Democrat Bernie Buescher.

This year, groups allied with Democrats have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars attacking ACP congressional candidate Doug Aden in an apparent effort to raise his profile so he might siphon votes from Republican Cory Gardner.