As I noted yesterday, support for the Republican Party's nominee for governor, Dan Maes, has plunged to just 15 percent in the latest Fox News poll, while former Republican Congressman and American Constitution Party candidate Tom Tancredo reaps 34 percent. If Tancredo could somehow grab Maes' 15 percent, he might just be able to mount a viable challenge to Democrat John Hickenlooper (with 44 percent). In an online poll of readers, The Washington Post gets to the heart of the issue by asking, "Should Colorado Republicans get behind Tom Tancredo?" As of this morning, 56 percent say "yes," Tancredo is "more credible" than Maes. However, another 31 percent say "it doesn't matter" because Hickenlooper will win.

Tancredo has seized on the moment to demand, once again, that Maes drop out of remaining debates. In issuing his plea, Tancredo points to what Maes said during a radio talk show earlier this month: That if there was a standard for candidates to be invited to debates, the candidate should be polling at 20 percent or higher (via the Grand Junction Sentinel). Maes campaign spokesman Nate Strauch says Maes will appear at the remaining six debates and that Maes never said he'd drop out of them. Rather, he only argued for setting a standard for such discussions. Tancredo was recently barred from a Club 20 debate because the membership numbers of his party were deemed too insignificant to be included.