Republican Penry exits race for governor

WEDNESDAY UPDATE: Josh Penry will no longer be a candidate for the Republican nomination for governor. The state senator and minority leader from Grand Junction made the semi-official announcement during an interview on KOA-AM radio Wednesday morning.

An official announcement was expected later Wednesday, including Penry’s endorsement of former U.S. Rep. Scott McInnis for the GOP nod.

TUESDAY STORY: Colorado state Sen. Josh Penry (R) plans to end his gubernatorial campaign and endorse former Rep. Scott McInnis (R), according to two sources familiar with his thinking.

Penry’s decision to opt out of the race is a stunner as many national Republicans had touted him as a potential rising star (and we had featured him in our “Rising” series, which looks at up and coming politicians).

Political chatter in the immediate aftermath of Penry’s decision suggested he might be considering a run against 3rd District Rep. John Salazar (D) who won the Western Slope seat when McInnis retired in 2004. Salazar’s seat is one of 49 held by Democrats that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) carried in 2008. (McCain won it 50 percent to 48 percent for President Barack Obama.) But, Republicans already have a candidate — state Rep. Scott Tipton — they are high on in the race.

Sources close to Penry suggested that he was heavily influenced by the victories for Republicans in New Jersey and Virginia last week — wins due, at least in part, to the lack of competitive primaries on the Republican side.

Penry was worried that a bruising August primary would potentially compromise the eventual nominee’s chances of beating Ritter. Combine that with his youth (he is 33) and his role as state Senate Minority Leader and Penry decided that dropping out of the race was the best option for him and the party.

Read the full story at washingtonpost.com.