This blog post has been updated.
A reader pointed this out on a comment thread. The former government affairs director for both the Northwest Montana Association of Realtors and the Flathead Building Association is having a good day. George Culpepper Jr. left Kalispell last summer to take the job as campaign manager for Republican Scott McInnis in his bid for governor in Colorado. Well, today McInnis’ campaign found out that Colorado’s incumbent Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter won’t seek reelection. From Politico:
Ritter, a former Denver district attorney who won his first term easily in 2006, faced a stiff reelection challenge in November from former GOP Rep. Scott McInnis. According to a recent Rasmussen Reports automated poll, Ritter trailed McInnis 48 percent to 40 percent.
Culpepper also briefly served on the Flathead County Planning Board and drew criticism from those who saw his roles as a lobbyist and a board member as a conflict of interest.
UPDATE: Culpepper called the Beacon Wednesday afternoon to say that he had stepped down as campaign manager for McInnis, effective Dec. 31, to form Western Skies, a political strategies organization based in Colorado. Culpepper stressed that he was still supporting McInnis’ run for governor.