Maes hard pressed to exit race

Would-be governor Tom Tancredo and his surrogates have run a full-court press on GOP rival Dan Maes in recent weeks, snaking supporters out from under the struggling candidate and upping pressure for Maes to exit the three-way race.

With the former Republican congressman within single digits of Democrat John Hickenlooper in a few public polls, some of the pressure has been overt.

Political analysts once bearish on Tancredo's chances in a three-way race now say a win appears a real possibility if Maes slips into the single digits. A Maes exit would set Hickenlooper — the front-runner tracking in the low to mid-40s in polls — back on his heels, said Denver pollster Floyd Ciruli.

"If it's going to be 45-45-5 (percent), you have a competitive race here," he said. "If Maes releases his votes, . . . we would then have the kind of competitive, two-person race that we have in the Senate: expensive and negative on both sides."

In an effort to further diminish Maes' support, the newest Tancredo radio ad accuses him of "shaking down an old lady" and of living "a life built on lies."      - More -