DENVER (AP) — Colorado’s Democratic governor took the unusual step Friday of criticizing a fellow Democrat, Andrew Romanoff, for airing a biting attack ad in the party’s Democratic Senate primary.
The Romanoff ad targets his rival for the Senate nomination, former Gov. John Hickenlooper. It cites a recent ethics commission finding that Hickenlooper violated state ethics laws and was held in contempt for refusing to testify. Those are charges that Republicans, who are hoping Romanoff’s longshot bid cripples Hickenlooper, have been making on the airwaves all week.
Gov. Jared Polis issued a statement Friday afternoon after much of Colorado’s Democratic political establishment, which has increasingly worried about Hickenlooper’s campaign stumbles, expressed revulsion at the spot.
“I’m disappointed that Andrew Romanoff has chosen to throw mud and attack John Hickenlooper instead of focusing on his own vision and record,” Polis said. “I hope that Andrew reconsiders this counterproductive attack ad, so that we can put Democrats in the best position to win in November.”
The winner of the June 30 primary will face Republican Sen. Cory Gardner, widely considered the most vulnerable GOP senator in the nation.
