[FOXNEWS] Republican voters on Tuesday opted for U.S. Rep. Bob Beauprez to challenge Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper in November, pinning their hopes to end a long electoral drought in Colorado on a candidate who lost his previous gubernatorial bid by 17 points.
Beauprez, a buffalo rancher who grew up working on his father's dairy farm, defeated three other Republican candidates in a sleepy primary with little advertising thunder. That will change fast: Hickenlooper, who has raised nearly $3 million for his re-election bid, already has bought $1.4 million in television advertising for the weeks leading up to the general election.
The victory punctuates an eight-year journey for Beauprez back to the Republican Party spotlight, and shows that despite his past defeat the GOP establishment still views him as the most formidable candidate against Hickenlooper. |