That’s what most of Colorado’s Democratic political establishment thought of the task the MAC Group had set for itself. Kiros was not the only candidate who fit that bill: the MAC Group team also worked on state Sen. Julie Gonzales’s challenge to U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper. It never occurred to the campaign team that their opponent might attempt to weaponize the bad-faith accusation in any serious manner. The MAC Group team was stunned. Outside of the personal impact of the attacks, the MAC team was surprised to see DeGette’s team make what they felt was an overt strategic mistake.