Tom Tancredo Makes Colorado Gubernatorial Run Official

DENVER (CBS4)- Former Congressman Tom Tancredo says he's running for governor of Colorado again.

The news follows last month's meeting in Colorado Springs between Tancredo, a Republican, and former President Donald Trump advisor Steve Bannon.

"I don't think a traditional Republican can win anything statewide. ... I'm not a typical Republican, I think you would agree," Tancredo told CBS4 after the meeting.

CBS4 confirmed Tuesday morning that Tancredo will join the crowded race for the Republican nomination.

PHOTOS: See Who's Running For Governor In Colorado

Tancredo said last month he hadn't begun raising money but that he had been meeting with Republican groups around the state about the possibility of jumping in the race.

Rep. Jared Polis, a Democrat who represents Colorado's 2nd Congressional District and is also running for governor, quickly sent out a statement attacking Tancredo, saying "Tom Tancredo has spent his career championing hate groups."

Tancredo ran for president as a Republican in 2008 and left the race relatively early on, but he is known across the country as one of the nation's most conservative politicians when it comes to immigration policy.

He was elected by voters in Colorado's 6th Congressional Distric to Congress in 1998 and opted against running for re-election after five terms. He made a run for Colorado governor as the American Constitution Party candidate in 2010 after a series of events led him to leave the GOP but he lost out to Democrat John Hickenlooper. In 2014 he ran as a Republican and lost in the primary to Bob Beauprez by approximately 3 points after coming under attack from the Republican Governors Association.