If ever there was a poster child for the one issue candidate, Tom Tancredo fits the bill. Incumbent representative of Colorado’s 6th congressional district spanning portions of Aurora, the Denver Metro area, Littleton and also Centennial, he beat out democratic contenders Joanna Conti in 2004 and Bill Winter in 2006.
In spite of his consistent pro-life votes in the Congress, pundits for the upcoming presidential election have chosen to zero in on his staunch opposition to illegal immigration. Speaking out in favor of legal immigration while at the same time demanding the deportation of known illegals, his stance has become a bit of a powder keg in today’s political climate that treats illegal immigration with either kid gloves or reserved disdain.
Those who compile polls as well as those who use them to stick their proverbial finger into the wind in an effort to determine public sentiment have watched the republican presidential hopeful with interest. USA Election Polls has collected the national averages of his popularity by month, and from January through July he gets little more than 1% to maybe 2.5%, depending on the polling entity. The highest was afforded him by the Cook Political Report in April, 2007 when he beat out Mike Huckabee, Tommy Thompson, Duncan Hunter, Sam Brownback, Ron Paul and Chuck Hagel on the conservative side, and went head to head with Joe Biden but defeated Chris Dodd on the liberal side of the aisle.
Yet keeping in mind that his shouting match with Karl rove did not help get republican support behind him, many a now suggesting that instead of a dark horse, Mr. Tancredo is actually a stalking horse; yet for whom his single issue focus will bear fruit is still anyone’s guess.
