BREAKING NEWS: The Honey Badger (Scott Gessler) Wants to be the Next Governor

This just in: Scott Gessler is, officially, campaigning to be Colorado’s next governor.

If this doesn’t feel like breaking news, we don’t blame you as we’ve all heard rumors of his would-be run for months. (He even walked in Park Hill’s Fourth of July parade, on what used to be Governor John Hickenlooper’s home turf since the Gov. recently lived in the neighborhood.) Tonight, though, Gessler declared his candidacy and abandoned a reelection campaign for Secretary of State.

So, who is Scott Gessler? I profiled the Honey Badger in our April 2012 issue:

By then Gessler had been in office for a year and had taken on the secretary of state drudgery like a hungry but punch-drunk prizefighter. During his brief tenure, he’d shown that he’ll swing at anyone—primarily Democrats, but also at media honchos and county clerks (aka, the folks who run elections with him). Gessler had been in the news so much that his name already is probably as well known as any secretary of state in Colorado history. (Quick: Try to name four of the last five.) Unlike his predecessors, Gessler wasn’t avoiding headlines; he was making them.

Since that story, Gessler has continued to make good (and bad) headlines as Colorado faced an unprecedented recall election season and national scrutiny during the 2012 presidential election. Through it all, Gessler’s perseverance has remained consistent, which is something I saw frequently while reporting “Scott Gessler Doesn’t Give A …:

It can be admirable, this impression that if Gessler were driving down Speer Boulevard and saw a pothole, he’d want to get out and fix it. …The problem with stopping to fill every pothole, though, is that it backs up traffic. Are Gessler’s intentions good? Probably. Does his execution need some work? Definitely.

The timing of his announcement—as we recover from yet another natural disaster—is just such an example: The date for the event had been set and Gessler stuck with it. Despite this scheduling issue, Gessler is more politically savvy than when he first took office, which will make the campaign interesting. And the news comes at a time that the once-unflappable John Hickenlooper is a larger target (see: his non-decision on Nathan Dunlap, the recalls, and the state’s new logo). Without a doubt, Gessler’s annoucement ensures that the Honey Badger will make election season, well, sporting. Plus, we’ll have more reasons to watch this:

Tell Us: What are your predictions for the campaign?

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