Would you believe it? The Vail Daily – Yes, in Vail, Colorado – just endorsed a Republican for state House.

More on that in a moment on the Face The State Radio Minute.

The Vail Daily newspaper isn’t exactly a right-wing rag. After all, much of the I-70 mountain corridor is fairly liberal, especially in ski towns. So it was a surprise to just about everyone when the paper endorsed Republican Ali Hasan for state House late last week.

The headline even began saying, “Call us Crazy.” But the reasoning behind the endorsement is most important. While admitting the Democrat incumbent, Christine Scanlan, would have been a “safe pick,” she also stands for ever-expanding government.

The Daily also believes it’s time for sweeping change at the state Capitol. Here’s what they said: “We don’t believe the Democrats have done a particularly great job in their turn at the helm.” End-quote.

The young, energetic and sometimes aloof Hasan has a real shot at winning with a big boost from his home-town paper.

For FaceTheState.com, I’m Kate Melvin.