Onetime Backer of Term Limits Abandons Pledge to Step Down
Once a leader of Colorado’s term-limits movement, Republican Rep. Thomas G. Tancredo said Wednesday he’s scrapping his pledge and will seek a fourth term. He cited what he called the ongoing threat posed by U.S. immigration policy.
Tancredo said he does not think he is betraying voters. He noted he sent supporters a letter before the 2002 election saying he no longer felt bound by the term-limits pledge he made before his 1998 election.
“I concluded that term limits were a bad idea,” he told Associated Press. “There are certain issues you cannot do effectively. For better or worse, I am the most highly visible member of Congress on the issue of immigration.”
Tancredo, a vocal supporter of stricter immigration enforcement, said he would seek to keep his seat as long as he felt useful.
The 6th Congressional District is considered one of the safest Republican seats in the state.
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