Vice President Mike Pence made a quick stop in Denver on Thursday to appear at a private fundraising luncheon. But the Republican did not appear with party’s candidate for governor, Walker Stapleton.

Denver was one of a string of campaign stops for the vice president Thursday. But those other stops, in Kansas and Oklahoma, were to campaign for specific candidates. In Denver there were no public appearances with candidates.

Instead, Pence appeared at a luncheon at The Palm, a downtown Denver steakhouse, to benefit America First Action, a political action committee supporting candidates aligned with President Donald Trump and opposing candidates who aren’t. The PAC has not supported or opposed any Colorado campaigns, Ernest Luning of Colorado Politics reports.

Asked after his late-morning arrival at Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora why he wasn’t appearing publicly with Stapleton, who is trailing his Democratic opponent, Jared Polis, in recent polls, Pence said, “I just spoke to Walker Stapleton on Air Force Two [the official vice presidential jet],” presumably meaning by phone.

“He’s in another part of the state today campaigning, but President Trump and I couldn’t be more proud to stand with Walker Stapleton,” Pence told reporters. “He’ll be a great governor for the people of Colorado.”

9News checked with the Stapleton campaign, which said there were no public campaign events scheduled for Thursday.

Trump earlier endorsed Stapleton by tweet. Stapleton has said he welcomes the support of the president, despite Trump’s losing Colorado to Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election and the president’s poor showing in recent Colorado popularity surveys.

No campaign visits to Colorado have been announced for Trump, with Election Day just weeks away.

Pence’s motorcade between Buckley and downtown Denver tied up midday traffic for up to half an hour on local freeways, which were briefly closed as the vice president passed by.

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