Eric Weissmann, the Republican businessman seeking to “fire” incumbent U.S. Rep Jared Polis, D-Boulder, will appeal the invalidation of a large portion of his petition signatures by the secretary of state’s office in Denver District Court.The secretary of state’s office rejected 614 of the 1,456 signatures submitted by the Weissmann campaign. Weissmann needs 1,000 valid signatures to make the primary ballot.

Weissmann’s attorney, Mario Nicolais, issued a statement attributing the invalidation to “small but systematic errors in the notarization process.” Weissmann is seeking access to the primary ballot as a GOP candidate for the 2nd Congressional District.

“While these clerical errors are unfortunate, Colorado case law gives us considerable comfort that the campaign’s petition submissions will be ruled substantially compliant with Colorado law,” Nicolais said.

The setback comes just as Weissmann’s campaign has reported a first-quarter fundraising total of $138,912, with Coloradans accounting for more than 85 percent of contributors.

Weissmann said the numbers show that Colorado Republicans and independents are “hungry to support a candidate who can beat Jared Polis.”

“These figures demonstrate broad support for our campaign’s message of promoting economic opportunity; building a more friendly jobs climate; and downsizing the size, cost, and scope of the federal government,” Weissmann said.

Weissmann is seeking the Republican nomination for the 2nd CD along with state Sen. Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud, and Todd Creek resident Tom Janich.

The Polis, Janich and Lundberg campaigns have not released fundraising totals ahead of the Federal Election Commission April 15 deadline for first-quarter reports.

— Ben@coloradostatesman.com