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DENVER \u2013 Republican U.S. Senate candidate Darryl Glenn says national GOP interests have largely passed him over this election because he\u2019s guaranteed a win.<\/p>\n
His comments have Democrats literally laughing out loud.<\/p>\n
The comment from Glenn<\/a> came last week in an interview with The Durango Herald, when Glenn was asked about his lackluster fundraising and dismal polling. He is down by double digits against Democratic incumbent Michael Bennet<\/a> in several polls.<\/p>\n \u201cI look at it as a compliment,\u201d Glenn said of the lack of national interest. \u201cThey know I can beat Michael Bennet on my own.\u201d<\/p>\n A spokesman for Bennet\u2019s campaign could hardly contain himself.<\/p>\n \u201cCan you quote me laughing?\u201d asked Bennet spokesman Andrew Zucker.<\/p>\n \u201cDarryl Glenn has openly admitted that his agenda is out of touch with even those in his own political party.\u201d<\/p>\n In a September fundraising email, Glenn had a different take on why the Republican Party and many right-leaning allies have largely ignored the race, which was expected to be one of the tightest Senate races in the country before the June primary.<\/p>\n \u201cThe reality is that I\u2019m too conservative for the elites in Washington,\u201d Glenn said in the fundraising email. \u201cThey didn\u2019t want me to win the primary, they don\u2019t want me in the Senate, and they certainly aren\u2019t going to help me now.\u201d<\/p>\n But last week, Glenn had another take on the situation.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a very unorthodox campaign, and we\u2019ve proven people wrong the entire way,\u201d Glenn said, comparing his efforts to a \u201cTrump phenomenon.\u201d<\/p>\n The El Paso County commissioner shocked political observers this year when he blew past every other candidate seeking to caucus onto the primary ballot at the April state convention. Some believe it was his compelling convention speech that propelled him to victory as a relatively unknown underdog.<\/p>\n He further impressed observers when he won the primary, defeating four other candidates, including some who had mainstream appeal.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery single time, when the votes needed to be counted, I prevailed, and it will be the same at the end of this,\u201d Glenn said last week.<\/p>\n Despite several political analysts and party insiders saying otherwise, Glenn believes the national party is concerned with other races across the country, but that in Colorado, those interests are more confident of a Republican win.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are trying to say, \u2018Well, why aren\u2019t they supporting you?\u2019 They\u2019re (the GOP) having to put out a bunch of fires, and they\u2019re having to work hard. So, to then try to draw the conclusion that they\u2019re not supporting me is not a valid conclusion,\u201d Glenn said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey want me to be part of the next generation to move this country forward.\u201d<\/p>\n Glenn went on to say that Bennet suffers from a favorability problem, which the Glenn campaign plans to highlight in television ads.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I were him, I would be sounding the alarm,\u201d Glenn said of Bennet.<\/p>\n Political analyst Eric Sondermann, however, said Glenn is either suffering from \u201cnoncredible spin, or willful self-delusion.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFollow the money,\u201d Sondermann said. \u201cIf national Republicans thought Darryl Glenn had a snowball\u2019s chance, they\u2019d be bringing money into Colorado by the truckload. If Democrats thought Bennet\u2019s seat was in the slightest jeopardy, they would not have canceled a $5 million television buy.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite Glenn\u2019s advice, the Bennet campaign and Democrats aren\u2019t sounding any alarms.<\/p>\n \u201cDarryl Glenn is spinning himself silly,\u201d said Chris Meagher, a spokesman for the Colorado Democratic Party. \u201cDoes anyone really believe that a clear lack of interest and support shows anything but the fact that people think Darryl Glenn is a weak candidate who is too extreme to win in Colorado?\u201d<\/p>\n