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DENVER — Colorado Republican Jane Norton is kicking back after her Senate primary opponent made a dig about her footwear.
Norton said she wasn't offended when Ken Buck told a voter in a videotaped remark to vote for him "because I do not wear high heels."
"I think it begs the question, 'Is this fitting for a United States senator?'" Norton asked during a debate Thursday.
Buck defended the remark he made last weekend at a conservative luncheon. He conceded it "wasn't very funny" but said he was only trying to make a joke.
"I tried to answer in a lighthearted way. ... It wasn't meant in an offensive way," Buck said in the KUSA-TV debate.
Buck's footwear dig was caught on tape and spread quickly on the Internet this week. Norton seized on the remark's implied sexism with a statewide ad showing the clip, along with Buck's further comment that he wears cowboy boots that "have real bull---- on 'em." Buck's home county is known for its sprawling, stinky cattle feedlots.
After the bleeped profanity, a voiceover in Norton's ad says, "Now Buck wants to go to Washington? He'd fit right in."
The ad started airing Thursday. Norton spokeswoman Cinamon Watson said it would run for about a week, though she wouldn't say how much the campaign spent on it. Running a statewide ad for about a week would typically cost in the mid six figures.
Colorado's Republican primary has taken a personal turn in recent weeks. Norton, a former lieutenant governor, reminds voters that Colorado's Democratic governor was best man in Buck's wedding. Buck, a county prosecutor, has poked fun at Norton's campaign color, purple, and reminds voters that Norton's sister-in-law is a lobbyist.
In an earlier ad, Norton even questioned Buck's manhood. In the ad, Norton points out that independent advocacy groups, not Buck, have aired attack ads against her.
"You'd think Ken would be man enough to do it himself," Norton said in her ad.
The gender battle has sparked national press interest, but even Norton backers seemed bored by the footwear dig.
"I think it's kinda silly, to be honest," said Celia Woodhouse of Highlands Ranch, a Norton volunteer who stood outside Thursday's debate wearing a "Go Jane Go" campaign shirt.
Buck and Norton greeted each other warmly at two events Thursday and didn't seem to let the shoe debate change their styles. They both wore shoes of the type they're seen in often — Norton in shiny black open-toed pumps with low heels; Buck sporting black cowboy boots.
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Online:
Norton's boot ad: http://www.janenortonforcolorado.com/multimedia
