Things were bad for Republicans in Colorado last week, but they've now gotten far worse. The gubernatorial and Senate races were once seen as golden opportunities for the GOP to take back a portion of the Mountain West, but the focus has shifted to a less favorable light.

It was so bad for Democrats that Gov. Bill Ritter announced he would not run for re-election -- four years after Democrats won the governorship and both chambers of the state legislature. However, recent trouble has hit the GOP's two top candidates: former Rep. Scott McInnis, who was discovered to have plagiarized large sections of what he once called original writings; and Dan Maes, who's been sacked with campaign finance violations and questions about his personal finances.

Enter former Rep. Tom Tancredo, who announced today he was entering the race for governor as a third-party candidate, severely hurting the party's already crippled chances of winning by potentially splitting the general election vote. Believing he would be a better candidate, Tancredo warned Maes and McInnis late last week that he would do exactly that if they did not drop out of the race.

McInnis confirmed in a released statement this afternoon that he would stay in the race at least through the Aug. 10 primary. "Colorado Republicans will speak with their votes on that day, and I will abide by their decision," he said.

Tancredo and state party Chairman Dick Wadhams engaged in a shouting match on a Denver radio show this morning. The station promotes it, rightly, as "an outstanding hour of radio."

On the Senate side, Ken Buck and Jane Norton are battling for the nomination and taking much of the headlines away from the Democratic primary, which is a competitive fight in its own right. Buck was caught telling voters that they should vote for him "because I don't wear high heels," a gaffe he said was in response to Norton questioning his manhood.

Then over the weekend Buck referred to Tea Partiers -- many of whom support his candidacy -- as "dumbasses" for bringing up President Obama's country of birth during his rallies. Buck was also heard saying, "I can't believe that guy opened his mouth," after Tancredo said at a Buck rally that Obama was a greater threat to the country than al Qaeda.

Perhaps this will help Norton, whose campaign has been actively promoting Buck's statements. "The Ken Buck 'on camera' seems to be a very different person than the Ken Buck 'caught on' camera," Norton said in a released statement this afternoon. But as of mid-June when the last public poll was released, she was trailing Buck by 16 points.

--------------------------------------------
Follow the RCP Blog on Twitter.
Become a fan of RCP on Facebook.
--------------------------------------------