Republican Dan Maes, facing calls to drop out of the Colorado gubernatorial race as Tom Tancredo’s third-party campaign surges, has reportedly rejected money in exchange for taking his name off the ballot.
The Denver Post reports that a “wealthy donor was willing to pony up money” to give to Maes, noting that if that he dropped out, “political observers believe Tom Tancredo, a former Republican running on a third-party ticket, stands a chance of beating the frontrunner, Democrat John Hickenlooper, for governor.”
Maes declined the offer, according to a supporter.
“Dan Maes was offered money from a 501(c)4 non-profit foundation, in exchange for getting out with the money coming from some unnamed wealthy donor,” Maes supporter Joe Harrington told the Denver Post. “Two of three who made the offers to me commented that they found the offer repulsive but felt it their duty to pass it along.”
The source said Tancredo’s campaign was not involved in the offer.