After Colorado Media Matters noted on February 28 that a February 27 Rocky Mountain News article erroneously reported that former U.S. Rep. Scott McInnis (R-CO) “honor[ed] a term-limit pledge,” the News published a correction on March 1. As Colorado Media Matters has noted, McInnis broke a pledge to serve no more than four terms when he ran for and won a fifth term in 2000.

The February 27 News article by reporter John C. Ensslin stated that McInnis, who reportedly is considering a run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Republican Wayne Allard, was “honoring a term-limit pledge” when he “did not run for Congress in 2004.” According to the News' March 1 online correction:

This [February 27] story incorrectly said that former Congressman Scott McInnis stepped down after keeping a term-limit pledge. McInnis retired from Congress in 2004 after serving six terms, despite an earlier pledge to serve no more than four.

The original article also included a photo of McInnis with a caption that erroneously read: “Scott McInnis kept term-limit pledge, left office in 2005.”

As the News reported on March 15, 1998 (accessed through the Nexis database), “When he sought his first term in Congress, U.S. Rep. Scott McInnis promised voters he would quit after eight years in office. That was in 1992. Now the Grand Junction lawmaker -- once an unabashed supporter of term limits -- has changed his mind. He says that retiring after four terms would hurt constituents, depriving them of a seasoned member of Congress.”

After breaking his term-limits pledge by running for a fifth congressional term in 2000, McInnis sought and won an additional term in 2002.