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Tancredo legacy drives debate

By Valerie Richardson | Tuesday, August 5, 2008

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The four Republican candidates for Colorados 6th Congressional District have one thing in common: Theyre strongly opposed to illegal immigration.

They had better be. They´re running to succeed Rep. Tom Tancredo, tireless champion of tighter border security, congressional rabble-rouser extraordinaire and bete noire of the open-borders lobby.

After 10 years in Congress, Mr. Tancredo, 63, announced earlier this year that he would retire after his unsuccessful bid for the Republican presidential nomination, even though the popular congressman likely could have held the seat for life.

His departure unleashed a horse race among Republicans eager to represent Denver´s prosperous southern suburbs. The Democrats also are fielding a candidate, aerospace engineer Henry Eng, but the Aug. 12 Republican primary will almost certainly decide the outcome in the staunchly Republican district.

All four Republicans can be described as conservative, and they hold similar stands on most issues, leading analysts to predict that the race will come down to experience and reputation. The best-known candidate is Mike Coffman, a former state legislator who has been elected to statewide office three times.

Mr. Coffman, 53, has a compelling military record as well. In 2005, he resigned after seven years as state treasurer to return to active duty as a Marine in Iraq, where he helped run two elections and establish local governments.

"There is not a single Republican in Congress who´s served in Iraq. I want to change that," Mr. Coffman says in one of his television ads.

Mr. Coffman might be the consensus pick of Republicans except for one problem: If he's elected, Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter would appoint his successor as secretary of state. That would give Democrats control of the governor´s office, both legislative houses and every state elective office except attorney general.

Republican leaders begged Mr. Coffman to stay out of the congressional race; when he refused, they threw their support behind newcomer Wil Armstrong. A businessman, Mr. Armstrong, 41, is running as a fresh face eager to shake up politics-as-usual in Washington.

This is Mr. Armstrong´s first run for political office, but he´s hardly unknown: His father is former Sen. Bill Armstrong, a revered and influential figure in Republican politics.