Colorado Tea Partyers say Tancredo betrayed them

Leaders of 21 state Tea Party groups, representing about 10,000 people, said Sunday they have been betrayed by Tom Tancredo and in an open letter beseeched the former congressman not to run for governor as a third-party candidate. Tancredo has given Republican gubernatorial candidates until noon today to commit to pulling out of the governor's race after the primary if polls show the winner trailing Democrat John Hickenlooper. If that doesn't happen, Tancredo says, he'll run for governor as the American Constitution Party candidate. Tancredo's declaration last week — the most recent drama to plague the state's GOP gubernatorial primary — sparked anger among the diffuse Tea Party groups around Colorado. Those leaders say it was Tancredo who had always urged them to work within the Republican Party, rather than splinter it...more