“Run, Ed, run!” “Run, Steve, run!” “Draft Joe!” “Hickenlooper for Senate!”

Supporters and political interests are taking to the internet with fan sites for who they want to see as candidates in the coming years.

The only thing is that the politicians themselves aren’t behind the promotional materials, or so they say. That could represent a brilliant indirect unofficial coordination that benefits the candidates without them having to lift a finger or say a word.

In many regards it’s a way for politicos to gauge their support without forming an official candidate committee with the secretary of state’s office or federal elections officials. That support eventually translates into fundraising if they actually put a committee together.

There’s also usually little benefit to announcing early. As a candidate, your name is out there for longer, which means more chances to screw up or have something leaked that tarnishes your name and the chances of winning.

So, have these interests and supporters found a loophole by independently creating fan sites? It certainly appears so.

In the 2018 gubernatorial election, promotional sites have been developed for Democrats, including U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter of Golden, and Thornton state Reps. Steve Lebsock and Joe Salazar.

“Run, Ed, Run! Ed Perlmutter’s always a true congressman with character. Now a whole lot of us want him to be a governor with guts. Draft Ed for Gov!” states the Facebook page for Perlmutter. His campaign staff and closest friends and advisers have called the site a mystery.

The “Draft Joe Salazar” Twitter page states that it is “an independent effort in support of Colorado State Rep. Joe Salazar’s potential candidacy in the 2018 governor’s race.” Salazar has signaled that he is considering a run for governor, but he has made no formal announcements.

A smart-looking website, RunSteveRun2018.com, boasts that Lebsock is a fourth-generation Coloradan who served in the Marines. Lebsock told ColoradoPolitics.com that he didn’t know that there would be a website, though he said he wasn’t surprised.

“I have been asked to run for governor since I was mayor pro tem of my city,” he said.

One of the more interesting fan sites, a Facebook page called “Hickenlooper for Senate,” presumes that the governor would pursue running against Republican incumbent Cory Gardner.

For one thing, Hickenlooper is being rumored as a possible presidential candidate in 2020. Also, running against a finely polished candidate like Gardner is no small challenge. There’s a reason national Republicans made him head of the senatorial fundraising committee.

Despite the odds, and the nearly four years advance promotion – which is an eternity in politics – Hick’s fans say the governor should give Gardner a run for his money.

“We need more leaders like this in our politics. We need to continue down the path of intelligence, rationality, and collaboration in our discourse. We need Hickenlooper for US Senate!” the Facebook page reads.

It goes on to clarify, “In case there is any confusion among voters, journalists, bloggers, etc – this page does not speak directly for the gov – he surely has a team of PR professionals for that. This page is about regular voters supporting the governor in a bid to become the next senator of Colorado.”

Some candidates, however, have already thrown themselves out there in a more traditional campaign launch. That’s been seen in the race for governor.

Democrats include former state Sen. Mike Johnston of Denver and Denver manufacturing entrepreneur and civic leader Noel Ginsburg.

On the Republican side, former state Rep. Victor Mitchell has also launched a campaign, as has Loveland activist Joanne Silva.

A total of 11 candidates have so far filed paperwork to run in the gubernatorial race: four Democrats; two Republicans; one Green Party candidate; one American Constitution Party candidate; a Unity Party candidate; and two unaffiliated candidates.

So, where are the fan sites for Republicans considering a run for governor?

Treasurer Walker Stapleton, Arapahoe County District Attorney George Brauchler and DaVita Healthcare Partners chief executive Kent Thiry are all considering a run for governor on the Republican ticket.

Please let us know if you see any fan sites for these guys so we can update our audience.

In the meantime, very clever, guys. Very clever.