DENVER — Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis said Monday his charitable donations go to individuals down on their luck — and the GOP.

"The contributions I give to personally are families in need. And I give to the Republican National Committee," he said on the Caplis & Silverman radio show on KHOW-630 AM, noting that neither are tax deductible.

As an example, McInnis pointed to a year he possessed an "elk tag."

"I went out and got an elk and had the elk processed and donated the processed meat to a family in need," he said.

Questions about McInnis' donations surfaced after he rejected a request from The Denver Post to release tax returns dating back to 1999 and a detailed assessment of his investments. He allowed a Post reporter to examine the first two pages of the 1040 forms of his and his wife Lori's 2005 through 2008 tax returns, but they did not include line-item deductions, such as charitable donations.

The former congressman declined a request for an interview about his taxes Friday. He did not respond to a request for an interview Monday after his radio appearance.

On the radio, he said that he believed his tax returns would show contributions to "the Episcopal church or something like that."

"But that doesn't reflect even close to the way Lori and I do charitable giving," he said, adding that many people donate to needy people and not large organizations.

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