Is Colorado GOP's Gov. Nominee, Dan Maes, a Liabilty for Ken Buck?

Plenty of issues separate Colorado's Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet and his Republican opponent Ken Buck.

They differ on health-care and financial-reform packages approved by Congress this year: Bennet voted yes and actively advocated for them, while Buck is opposed. They differ on abortion rights, with Buck opposing abortion under any circumstances and Bennet supporting abortion rights.

Immigration is likely to be a huge point of contention. One of Buck's and Bennet's few points of agreement is that the immigration system no longer works. (The first line of Buck's position: "The immigration system in our country is broken." Bennet's position begins: "Our current immigration system is broken.") Both also support visa programs and greater border security. But Bennet supports citizenship for some undocumented immigrants -- especially students -- who have lived in the country for some time. Buck opposes what he calls amnesty. And he's made his name as a district attorney trying to prosecute illegal immigrants, in one instance endorsing a law enforcement raid of a tax preparer's office in an attempt to identify those using fake identities. The Colorado Supreme Court overturned that raid as a violation of Fourth Amendment privacy rights.

But the two also differ on their campaign companions -- and that will be an awkward issue for Buck and other Colorado GOP candidates this fall.

Bennet can campaign alongside his former boss, Democratic gubernatorial candidate and Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper.

But what do Buck and other Republicans do about GOP candidate Dan Maes and American Constitution Party candidate Tom Tancredo?

State GOP Chairman Dick Wadhams is focusing on the Senate race, congressional races and the state legislature -- not the governor's race.

"The reality is that this race is over before it starts if Tancredo stays in," Wadhams said Wednesday. "He virtually ensures the election of John Hickenlooper and that responsibility is absolutely his."

Maes, a political novice, won the party's nomination for governor in a close Tuesday primary, possibly helped by a Democratic group that aired television ads against his opponent, Scott McInnis. Tancredo is running on the American Constitution Party ticket after Maes and McInnis refused to drop out of the race for governor.

Polls show Hickenlooper way out in front of Maes, with Tancredo sucking up considerable conservative air. The two candidates likely even split the Tea Party demographic, shown to be strong in Colorado.

But campaigning with -- or even acknowledging the presence of -- either Maes or Tancredo could be problematic for Buck or other Republicans.

Maes is now best known for his remark that Denver's bicycle-sharing program was part of a United Nations plot that "could threaten our personal freedoms." But he has other issues as well. He's pledged to cut state government by at least 2,000 workers and allow oil drilling on public lands even if the U.S. Interior Department has prohibited it. In his Tuesday acceptance speech, he said he would "enroll the state in a program that deports illegal alien criminals."

"He's a disaster for the GOP," said Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. "Maes does not have a clue -- that's how he comes across to me. The comment about the bicycling. Now look, people who make comments like that just don't win."

Then there's Tancredo, the former congressman and short-term presidential candidate who's a hero to anti-immigration advocates. Just last month, before the GOP governor's race went up in smoke, Tancredo appeared at a rally with Buck and South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint. There, he called President Barack Obama a greater threat to the United States than al-Qaeda. Buck scrambled to distance himself from that remark.

"He's had an experience with Tom Tancredo and then spent a week trying to explain his views," said Denver pollster Floyd Ciruli. "That is a lesson learned."

When it comes to the governor's race, independent political consultant Eric Sondermann said people might as well "plan party dresses for Hickenlooper's inaugural."

An accept-and-ignore strategy for the governor's race is probably the best route for the GOP.

"I think they try to ignore it and say as little about it as possible and try to keep their own campaigns isolated from that," said John Straayer, a Colorado State University political science professor.

The avoidance is already beginning.

"As of right now, Ken is focused on his race for U.S. Senate, and hasn't had time to think about it yet," Buck's spokesman said in an e-mail when asked about which candidate Buck supports in the governor's race.

There may be financial advantages for other Republicans if party leaders decide to give up the governor's race, Sondermann said, with money that might have gone to that race instead distributed to federal races and state legislative contests.

Wadhams noted he hopes to see GOP victories in up to three congressional districts now represented by Democrats.

And there will be plenty of money to throw around in the U.S. Senate race.

"I don't think either Ken Buck or Michael Bennet is going to be underfunded, either in terms of direct dollars into their campaign or indirect spending," Sondermann said. "This is going to be a shootout all the way to November. National money from all kinds of sources is going to come to bear."

Despite the prospect of another season of nasty campaign ads (likely repeating some of the themes brought up by primary opponents), Straayer hopes to see more debate about issues that divide congressional and state candidates.

"There's a universe worth of difference between Bennet and Buck -- it's night and day," Sabato said. "Colorado's going to be a test case for, quote, 'the wave.' How high is the Republican wave? If it's really high, then Bennet's history. If this turns out to be a moderately Republican year rather than a heavy Republican year, then Bennet can survive."

But this election also marks a watershed for the state Republican Party, said Rob Witwer, a former state lawmaker who co-authored a book about how Democrats took over politics in the state.

"This really ends a decade of bitter primaries in Republican statewide races," Witwer said. "Time will tell whether it's been a period of creative destruction or just destruction."