DENVER – Votes for Republican
The Denver District Court ruled that time had expired to challenge Keyser’s standing on the June 28 ballot.
The case was filed after allegations were made of fraudulent signatures collected by a petition-gatherer working for a firm hired by a political and public affairs company working for the Keyser campaign.
“Liberals have shown again and again with ill-fated stunts like these how scared they are of the possibility Sen. Bennet would have to face Jon Keyser in November,” Matt Connelly, a Keyser spokesman, said following the Tuesday evening decision.
“Unfortunately for Sen. Michael Bennet, we have collected more than enough valid signatures and will continue to take the fight to him on his disastrous vote for the Iran deal and his many failings on matters of economic security.”
The three plaintiffs alleged that Keyser used dozens of fraudulent signatures to make the ballot. One of the signatures was allegedly that of a dead person, though it did not count. The incident has been referred to prosecutors.
Mark Grueskin – a high-profile Denver attorney who often represents Democrats – argued on behalf of the plaintiffs that the signatures collected by the questionable petition gatherer should be blocked. That would have disqualified Keyser in the 1st Congressional District, thereby excluding his votes from being counted.
Candidates were required to collect at least 1,500 signatures from each of the state’s seven congressional districts.
But protests must be filed within a five-day window after the secretary of state’s office issues a statement of sufficiency or insufficiency. The clock started on April 25, the judge ruled.
“That’s why we have these extraordinarily short deadlines, elections have to happen,” Judge Morris B. Hoffman ruled from the bench. “We can’t have issues lingering about who the candidates are.”
Grueskin said he was weighing whether to appeal the decision.
The lawsuit marked the latest twist in a plagued Republican U.S. Senate race that has five candidates. Keyser earlier had to fight in court to make the ballot, after the secretary of state initially found invalid signatures.
A court last week ruled that former Aurora Councilman Ryan Frazier’s votes will count. Parts of his case went all the way to the Colorado Supreme Court.
Previously, a court ruled that Colorado Springs businessman Robert Blaha made the ballot, after the secretary of state’s office also found his petitions insufficient.
Former Colorado State University athletic director Jack Graham qualified for the ballot in April by collecting enough signatures; his campaign’s effort was not challenged.
El Paso County Commissioner Darryl Glenn made the ballot at the April 9 state convention, shocking observers by knocking out several other candidates.
The candidates are vying to challenge Democratic incumbent Michael Bennet, who has more than $7.6 million in the bank.
pmarcus@durangoherald.com
