Candidate misidentifies Mount McKinley as Pikes Peak

Colorado may be Bob Schaffer's life, but a refresher course on the state's landmarks couldn't hurt.

Pikes Peak, for instance.

The Republican U.S. Senate candidate on Wednesday unveiled his first television ad, with the theme "Colorado is my life."

"I proposed to my wife, Maureen, on top of Pikes Peak," Schaffer says in the ad, gesturing behind him as the couple's picture appears with a snow-covered mountain in the background.

The mountain pictured in the ad, though, isn't Pikes Peak; it's Mount McKinley in Alaska.

The Colorado Democratic Party and Progress-NowAction, a liberal advocacy group, were quick to jump on the mistake, sending news releases noting that apparently all mountains look alike to Ohio natives like Schaffer.

Both news releases ridiculing Schaffer misspelled Pikes Peak as "Pike's Peak."

Schaffer's campaign manager, Dick Wadhams, said Wednesday afternoon that the ad was quickly pulled after it was released on the Internet.

Wadhams blamed the embarrassing episode on the campaign's media consultant, who was supposed to verify that the mountain was Pikes Peak.

"We are terribly frustrated with our media consultant and I can tell you this mistake won't be made again, but it still won't distract from the substance of the ad," Wadhams said.

Schaffer's Democratic opponent, U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, isn't likely to confuse the two mountains - he's climbed both, according to his campaign spokeswoman Taylor West.

Udall also launched his first TV spot Wednesday - on his energy policy - and did not misidentify any Colorado landmarks.

CONTACT THE WRITER: (303) 837-0613 or ed.sealover@gazette.com.