COLORADO, USA — Republican gubernatorial candidate Heidi Ganahl said she would announce her pick for lieutenant governor on Thursday, but Thursday came and went without an announcement.
Colorado Politics published on Thursday, and then retracted, a story naming Las Animas County Commissioner Felix Lopez as the pick.
They removed the story saying on Twitter, "Her campaign says Lopez is not her pick."
Ganahl spoke with Casper Stockham on KLZ 560 AM radio on July 1 and said she would make her pick on Thursday.
"We also have a great lieutenant governor pick that we're going to announce next Thursday," Ganahl said on the show. "But he is a, a very strong Hispanic leader from rural Colorado, who I think, will help us do the job of uniting Colorado."
> Below: Watch Ganahl's speech after winning the gubernatorial nomination
When reached by phone, Stockham said he was also expecting the pick on Thursday.
Lopez is also the board president of Colorado Counties, Inc. (CCI), a non-profit organization that assists county commissioners statewide.
On Thursday, 9NEWS reached out to CCI asking to speak with Lopez.
The response was "Felix says that all calls should go to {the spokeswoman} at Ganahl Campaign."
Why would asking for Lopez have to go through the Ganahl campaign?
The three questions posed for the Ganahl campaign include:
- Was Lopez asked to run as lieutenant governor and did he say yes?
- Was Lopez asked and did he say no?
- Was Lopez asked, did he say yes and then back out just before it was to be announced?
The spokeswoman has not answered those questions directly, but said in a text, "That report was not true and has been retracted. Felix Lopez is a strong supporter who will have a pivotal role in our campaign, especially reaching out to rural Colorado and minorities. We pushed back the announcement for the holiday week and will let you know when we are ready to share our choice for LG."
When reached by phone on Friday, Lopez said he was not sure who let that information get out prematurely and that conversations were still going on.
"Let's just wait," he said.
When asked if he was asked to be lieutenant governor and did he say yes, his phone started to cut out and the call disconnected.
Two additional phone calls went to voicemail and he has not responded to a follow up text message.
RELATED: New rules from Colorado SoS aim to keep election deniers from tampering with election equipment
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Politics