Wadhams gets firmly behind Schaffer

This has been cooking for awhile, but now it's official: State Republican Chair Dick Wadhams is taking control of Bob Schaffer's Senate campaign.

From a press release:

Colorado Republican State Chairman Dick Wadhams announced today he would manage the Bob Schaffer for U.S. Senate campaign while remaining state chairman. Wadhams also announced that Mike Britt would assume responsibilities as executive director of the Colorado Republican Party.

“Mike Britt brings a great deal of practical experience to the Colorado Republican Party,” Wadhams said. “He was tested in one of the toughest House races in the nation in 2006 and was widely credited for his work on the Romney for President campaign.”

Wadhams ran outgoing Senator Wayne Allard's last campaign and also was responsible for dethroning former Democratic Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle in South Dakota in 2003. The latter effort earned Wadhams a rep for dirty tactics and a comparison with Karl Rove. But he was also at the helm of Virginia Senator George Allen's campaign, which went south following Allen's infamous "macaca" comment.

Michael DeYoanna has done a great job for the Chronicle of covering Wadhams' maneuvers since coming back to Colorado in 2007, including politically stiff-arming a potential primary challenger to Schaffer. Now, Wadhams and Schaffer will set their sights on the Democratic Senate candidate Mark Udall and the hard work of pegging him as a Boulder liberal. There's plenty of work to be done for Schaffer, who is lagging behind Udall in contributions, and the Dems are certainly eager to flip the Senate seat.