McInnis says he could have beat Udall

Former U.S. Rep. Scott McInnis (R-Grand Junction) told the Colorado Independent on Tuesday that he would have beat Democrat Mark Udall in this year's U.S. Senate race.

"I would have beat Udall, that wasn't the issue," McInnis said to the liberal news Web site. "Frankly I have more difficulties with the right wing of my party then I do with taking on a Democrat. Udall was not the biggest threat I faced in the election. My biggest threat was getting through the primary. Both parties have a pretty radical element to them."

Bob Schaffer, a former U.S. representative from Fort Collins who was cleared to become the Republican U.S. Senate nominee, is currently trailing in the polls. McInnis thinks Schaffer's prospects for victory aren't good, according to the Independent.

When U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Loveland) said in January 2007 that he wouldn't seek re-election, McInnis quickly announced  his candidacy. But McInnis dropped out of the U.S. Senate race in March 2007, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family.

McInnis has also had a rift with state party officials, including Colorado GOP Chair Dick Wadhams, who currently serves as Schaffer's campaign manager.

"Most of the races we've lost in the last six years are two reasons: one, money, and two, the candidates we put up," McInnis said to the Independent. "Generally, people in Colorado don't like somebody who's radically to the right or radically to the left. That's why in Colorado for many decades we had a Republican state House and state Senate and a Democrat governor. They like those checks and balances, and now we don't have it anywhere."

According to the Independent's David O. Williams, McInnis sounds like he's having second thoughts about his decision to drop out of the Senate race.

"As of January we will have one state-held Republican office and that will be the attorney general, because [secretary of state] Mike Coffman got elected to Congress and [Gov. Bill] Ritter's going to appoint a Democrat there," McInnis said. "And [Democrats] will have overwhelming state House [numbers], overwhelming state Senate, overwhelming Congress."

McInnis said he wouldn't rule out running for public office in the near future.

"[Salazar's] up in two years and Ritter's up in two years and there's a [Mesa] county commissioner seat in two years and there's sheriff's race in Mesa County, so who knows?" McInnis said, according to the Independent. "Or I might be sitting on my deck in two years reading biographies, which is my favorite thing to do. But I do like people; I do miss people."