George Brauchler is considering a run for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate. But the district attorney hasn’t made any progress on that decision over the last seven months, he told The Colorado Statesman Friday evening.

Brauchler, serving his first term as prosecutor for the18th Judicial District, was commenting on a Denver Post article, posted late Friday, that said he was considering a run for the seat currently held by Democrat Michael Bennet.

“I need time to think about this, talk to my wife, reconnect with my kids. I need to figure out my life! I’m definitely considering it, but I haven’t progressed beyond that” in the last seven months, Brauchler said. His name was subject to much discussion starting in January after U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman turned down a chance to run for the Republican nomination.

Brauchler has been under increased pressure to challenge Bennet, seen as the only vulnerable Democrat up for reelection to the Senate next year, following the conclusion of the James Holmes trial last week. Holmes was sentenced to multiple life terms without the possibility of parole plus 3,318 years for killing 12 and wounding 70 in the Aurora movie theater shooting. Brauchler had sought the death penalty in the case.

Brauchler talked to The Statesman at the Arapahoe County Republican Party Lincoln Day dinner in Aurora. The dinner, attended by more than 300, was headlined by Paul Bremer, the former administrator of Iraq during the Bush administration.

His decision whether to run would be based largely on the impact of a Senate race and a potential move to Washington, D.C., on his family, including four children between the ages of 5 and 11, Brauchler said. “I’ve been sort of absent the last seven months, there but not there,” he said, referring to the Holmes trial. “I need to figure out if I can be a husband and father and serve in someplace that my family isn’t. I don’t know the answer to that right now.”

But Brauchler also said people shouldn’t be surprised if, sometime in the future, they see yard signs supporting his run for another term as district attorney “or something else.” He is up for a second term as DA in 2016. The “something else” could be a run for governor in 2018, when Democrat John Hickenlooper will be termed out. Brauchler was urged to challenge Hickenlooper in 2014 but declined.

As to his timeline for making a decision on a Senate bid, Brauchler acknowledged that Labor Day is often an informal deadline for campaign kick-offs for major races. But he said no one is pressuring him into making a decision by then. He cautioned that, if his need to “deliberate over this with my family costs me the ability to make this decision, I’m comfortable with that. This is too big a decision, not just for us but for the community and state.

“I shouldn’t get into this race unless my heart is in it. I have to figure out if that’s going to happen,” he added.

Brauchler got a standing ovation at the dinner Friday night when introduced by Arapahoe GOP Chair Joy Hoffman. He acknowledged the applause but didn’t address the audience.

— marianne@coloradostatesman.com