Tancredo Gets Good News In Polls, Court

Tom Tancredo may be a third-party candidate for Colorado governor, but he's no longer coming in third.

Mr. Tancredo surged ahead of GOP candidate Dan Maes in a Rasmussen Reports poll released Tuesday, capturing 25 percent of the vote to 21 percent for Mr. Maes. Both trail John Hickenlooper, a Democrat with 46 percent support in the survey of 750 likely Colorado voters.

Mr. Tancredo, a former congressman and outspoken critic of illegal immigration, received more good news Tuesday when a state judge ruled that he may remain on the November ballot as a candidate from the American Constitution Party. Two Republican voters had filed a lawsuit saying he violated state election law because he was a member of the GOP until July.

Colorado law states that third-party candidates must be registered with the party by the first business day of January in the year they plan to run. But the law also says that political parties may set their own standards for selecting candidates.

"Huge victory today," Mr. Tancredo said. "I will be on the ballot in November."

Two weeks ago, Mr. Maes held 24 percent of the vote in the same poll, with just 14 percent of voters for Mr. Tancredo. Since then, however, Mr. Maes has been dogged by accusations that he exaggerated his credentials when he said he was an undercover agent on a Kansas police force.

"In those two weeks since Labor Day, Maes has been accused of padding his resume, which is always a negative with voters," pollster Floyd Ciruli said. "Meanwhile, you have Tancredo picking up the endorsements of a number of Republicans."

The Tancredo campaign released last week a list of Colorado Republicans who have decided to cross party lines and support his candidacy. The list includes former Rep. Bob Beauprez and 16 current or former state legislators. Rep. Steve King, Iowa Republican, also has endorsed Mr. Tancredo.

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