Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jon Keyser called on a powerful conservative organization to rescind its endorsement of a primary opponent on Thursday after El Paso County Commissioner Darryl Glenn questioned whether Keyser has been straight with voters about the activities that led to the Air Force intelligence officer winning a Bronze Star.

Glenn, for his part, is sticking to his guns, while the outside group – the Senate Conservatives Fund – is doubling down on its endorsement.

Keyser issued the demand following a contentious debate on Wednesday night in Colorado Springs between the five Republicans vying to take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet. The Keyser campaign also threw in another charge against Glenn, saying the candidate “finally admitted that he supports tax increases on Coloradans,” citing another exchange at the debate.

“Darryl Glenn’s bizarre decision to criticize the Bronze Star Medal I received for serving our country in combat and his admission that he supports tax increases is an embarrassment to conservatives everywhere,” said Keyser, a former state lawmaker, in a statement.

“If Senate Conservatives Fund hopes to salvage any credibility with the conservative movement,” he added, “they need to immediately revoke their endorsement of Darryl Glenn.”

The organization’s president, former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, told The Colorado Statesman that he was declining to take Keyser up on his suggestion.

“Jon Keyser thought our endorsement was credible enough for him to seek it out, but we decided to support Darryl Glenn because he’s the true conservative in the race,” Cuccinelli said.

“Unlike Jon Keyser, Darryl Glenn won 70 percent of the vote at the statewide convention and did not rely on forged signatures to get on the ballot,” Cuccinelli continued. “We’re proud to join grassroots conservatives across Colorado in supporting Darryl Glenn and we urge all Republicans to vote for him in this important election.”

The Senate Conservatives Fund endorsed Glenn – the only one of the GOP primary candidates to qualify for the ballot through the caucus and assembly process – late last month, calling him “an inspiring leader who will defend the constitution and stand up to the liberals in both parties.” Glenn has raised in the neighborhood of $50,000 due to a fundraising letter Cuccinelli sent out on his behalf, a campaign spokeswoman said, and the group, along with its campaign arm, has so far poured nearly $200,000 into television and radio advertising in support of Glenn.

Keyser and Glenn face Robert Blaha of Colorado Springs, Ryan Frazier of Aurora and Jack Graham of Fort Collins in the June 28 primary. Mail ballots went out to voters statewide this week.

Glenn brought up Keyser’s Bronze Star – a military decoration for heroism or distinctive achievement, it has featured prominently in Keyser’s campaign since the combat veteran and major in the Air Force Reserve launched his bid – at the debate, which was sponsored by The Gazette, KKTV 11 News and the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

“Did you receive the Bronze Star for the work you did on a software program, or did you receive the Bronze Star, as you have represented to the community, that you have personally kicked in doors and you have gone to combat?” Glenn asked.

Keyser responded that he’d graduated from the Air Force Academy and asked to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan. “We weren’t going after street thugs or computer programmers, or whatever you’re talking about,” he said, and then described going on missions, some at night, to take out the enemy.

“Did you personally do that?” Glenn said.

“Yes,” Keyser said, and then jabbed Glenn, a fellow Air Force Academy graduate and retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, who had earlier in the debate acknowledged he spent his military career in support roles. “What I did, which you did not do, like you said. But you’re right, you do have to somebody in the rear with the gear, as you said. …We would apprehend them or kill them.”

“That’s not true,” Glenn interjected.

The citation accompanying Keyser’s Bronze Star lauds his service “while engaged in ground combat against the enemy” while Keyser was deployed in Baghdad from November 2006 into May 2007. Noting that while he was “frequently subject to lethal direct and indirect enemy rocket, small arms, and mortar fire,” Keyser “implemented a unique and effective technique to provide critical force protection and situational awareness data to ground counter-terrorism operations.”

The citation continues, “His collaborative efforts with Iraqi intelligence elements provided real-time intelligence support to Coalition special tactics units, resulting in an incalculable number of Coalition and Iraqi lives saved. Of particular note, Lieutenant Keyser participated in 31 direct action and counter-terrorism missions resulting in the capture or elimination of 107 high-value enemy individuals.”

“Capt. Keyser is an exceptional reservist,” said Air Force Colonel John Bansemer at the January 2010 ceremony, when he awarded Keyser the decoration, according to an account in the Buckley Guardian. “We are incredibly lucky to have him on the team.”

In Keyser’s military records covering more than a decade of service, made available to The Statesman, superior officers routinely pour on the superlatives, describing Keyser as an outstanding leader and calling his job performance “second to none.” In a performance report, an Air Force major writes, “Outshines peers – without doubt my best junior leader & operator!” Another Air Force major cites Keyser for his “[c]ombat proven leadership” and refers to him as an “intel expert with ops perspective.”

A spokeswoman for the Glenn campaign, however, said the candidate wasn’t backing down, and charged that it was a matter of “integrity.”

“We stand behind the questioning,” Glenn campaign spokeswoman Jillian Likness told The Statesman. “It wasn’t a question of whether Jon Keyser served in combat. It was a question about how he represented that service, as well his actions during the time he was in theater. It’s a question of integrity. That was Darryl’s only intent was to question the integrity of the statements that have been made previously by the Keyser campaign.”

“He said he went out and did capture-kill missions,” she added. “He’s toned it back, but that doesn’t mean he never said it.”

Regarding the Keyser charge that Glenn supports tax increases, Likness said Glenn supported asking county constituents whether they wanted to maintain a tax that had been approved by voters for road projects, and they agreed overwhelmingly.

“Additionally, Darryl Glenn has signed the Colorado Taxpayers Union pledge (unlike the other candidates) as well as a federal pledge to not raise taxes,” the campaign said in a statement.

“We’ve tried to run a clean campaign,” Likness told The Statesman. “When what he’s hinged his entire campaign on – even his ad directed voters to that Bronze Star citation. Nobody’s saying he didn’t get it or he didn’t earn it. We appreciate everybody’s service. But are they misrepresenting the material facts to the voters?”

– ernest@coloradostatesman.com