As the field of GOP candidates in the hunt for Governor of Colorado for 2018 grows, Denver Broncos General Manager John Elway is assuring everyone he is not one of them.
Elway again stomped down speculation that he intends to jump into the GOP primary for governor for the Centennial State. Current Governor, Democrat John Hickenlooper, faces a term limit end to his tenure in 2018.
But the Hall of Fame quarterback says he is not interested in running for office right now.
“My intentions are to continue to run the Denver Broncos football operations,” Elway told KUSA 9News. “They can run. I’m not running for Governor. For some reason these things continue to come up.”
Just as the two-time Super Bowl champion (1999 and 1998) quashed rumors of a political career in Colorado, he also insisted he is not interested in taking his football management career to California.
Elway has an offseason home in Los Angeles and there has been much speculation that he intends to parlay that home into a job with the L.A. Rams, or the San Diego Chargers if they move to L.A.
“I’m working for the Denver Broncos. You can put an end to those,” Elway said.
Still, Elway has only one year left on his current Broncos contract and has been in talks about an extension since October.
Speculation of a political career, though, isn’t out of the blue where it concerns Elway. A well-known Republican, Elway ruffled feathers early this year by appearing in an advocacy commercial over the Amendment 71 issue, a measure to make it harder to change the state constitution.
Still, state Republicans have wooed Elway to run for one office or another for years and he has thus far always resisted the temptation.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.