Nobody seems to be able to dissuade Republican Dan Maes from running for governor—not even Tom Tancredo.

Maes has rejected an offer from Tancredo, the American Constitution Party candidate, in which both politicians would leave the race so that the Republican Party could pick a new candidate (via The Associated Press).

GOP chairman Dick Wadhams hand-delivered the offer from Tancredo to Maes’ office in Evergreen on Wednesday—an attempt to field a conservative candidate who Tancredo thinks could defeat Democrat John Hickenlooper, notes KUNC radio.

Nate Strauch, Maes’s spokesman, claims Tancredo “has been part of this culture of backroom deals for his entire career, and apparently he still thinks that’s the way to do business. But that’s not something Dan has ever taken part in, and he certainly isn’t going to take part in it now” (via Westword).

Meanwhile, seven current and likely future local Republican legislators traveled to Arizona this week in search of creating barriers to Tancredo’s pet issue: illegal immigration.

The Denver Post writes that the lawmakers—including social conservatives like Representatives Dave Schultheis of Colorado Springs and Kevin Lundberg of Berthoud—are working with the Republican Study Committee of Colorado “to find ways to mimic Arizona’s controversial law.”