DENVER – Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jon Keyser will be on the June primary ballot.
A Denver District Court ruled that petition signatures excluded by the secretary of state’s office should be considered valid.
Meanwhile, two other candidates – Colorado Springs businessman Robert Blaha and former Aurora Councilman Ryan Frazier – were granted a five-day extension to challenge a similar decision by the secretary of state’s office to invalidate signatures.
The issue for Keyser revolved around a signature gatherer who failed to update his voter registration with a new address. The petition circulator moved just days before he started gathering signatures for Keyser.
“In assessing Mr. (Tyler) Gonzalez’s credibility and the evidence in this case, the Court finds that Mr. Gonzalez did not have an improper motive in failing to update his voter registration address,” Judge Elizabeth Starrs said in a written ruling.
Judges often point out that the law should be “liberally construed” when deciding whether to place a person or issue on a ballot. The idea is to give voters a chance to weigh in, rather than exclude them from the process.
Keyser, a former state lawmaker from Morrison, needed 1,500 valid signatures from Republican voters in each of the state’s seven congressional districts.
On Monday, the secretary of state’s office said Keyser came up 86 signatures short in the 3rd Congressional District, which includes La Plata County.
The campaign for the 34-year-old combat veteran, who lived in Durango and Bayfield as a child, wasted no time attacking the incumbent Democrat he hopes to challenge.
“It’s a shame for Senator Michael Bennet that the best days of his campaign will be remembered as the few days he falsely dreamed Jon Keyser was blocked from the ballot,” said Keyser spokesman Matt Connelly.
Meanwhile, the campaigns for Blaha and Frazier filed a joint petition on Friday, asking a Denver District Court to block the secretary of state’s office from setting the ballot. Colorado law required the office to set the ballot by Friday.
The court granted the request, giving the two candidates until Wednesday to protest the secretary of state’s insufficiency decision. At that time, the ballot will be finalized.
Staff for both campaigns were combing through petitions at the secretary of state’s office on Friday to determine whether a protest would be worthwhile.
Blaha fell short in three congressional districts, and Frazier in four districts. Numerous errors were found on petitions for Blaha and Frazier.
Former Colorado State University athletic director Jack Graham qualified for the June 28 ballot last week by collecting enough signatures.
El Paso County Commissioner Darryl Glenn made the ballot by taking the caucus route, shocking political observers after receiving 70 percent of the delegate vote at the April 9 state convention, knocking out several other candidates in a crowded Republican field.
Colorado Democrats said the trouble for Republicans landing on the primary ballot is representative of the struggle the campaigns are facing against Bennet.
“After being handpicked by the national Republican Party and blowing off grass-roots Republicans, Jon Keyser had to sue his way onto the Republican primary ballot,” said Chris Meagher, spokesman for the Colorado Democratic Party. “Now he’s back to limping through the primary with no momentum and practically no money, while Robert Blaha and Ryan Frazier prepare their own lawsuits to get back on the ballot.”
pmarcus@durangoherald.com
