August 31, 2007 07:49 PM UTC

Is Udall a Shoo-In? Not So Fast...

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• by: Colorado Pols

The conventional wisdom in the 2008 Senate race holds that Rep. Mark Udall is a clear favorite to defeat Bob Schaffer next fall, but Jeff Bridges at State 38 says the race may not be as easy as it seems:

Republican Sen. Wayne Allard is retiring, and folks in DC believe that five-term Congressman Mark Udall from Boulder Eldorado Springs will handily defeat his ultra-conservative opponent, former 4th District Congressman Bob Schaffer.

The logic goes something like this: In 2004, a terrible year for Democrats nationally, Colorado elected a Democratic U.S. Senator, Ken Salazar, a Democratic Congressman, John Salazar, and took over control of the State House and Senate.  Then two years later we elected a Democratic Governor, Bill Ritter, and grew our Democratic majority in the State House and Senate.  The pundits believe this indicates Colorado has undergone a shift to the political left – that we’re a “blue” state!  Add to this, they believe, the fact that Democrats will host the national convention in Denver and you’ve got a slam dunk for Udall.

So they say in DC.  I think they’re wrong, and Udall’s folks have a very nasty and very tough fight ahead of them.

First, the convention is far more likely to hurt Udall than to help him.  Right now when Coloradans think “Democrat” they think of Bill Ritter and the Salazar brothers.  The convention will feature Democrats like Al Sharpton, Ted Kennedy, and whoever ends up winning the presidential nomination (not Bill Richardson, sorry folks).  They will remind voters that the national Democrats really aren’t all that conservative, and that some of us are downright loopy.  Add to that the hoards of left-wing protestors we’re certain to have flooding our streets with their hippy agenda and the convention is not a good thing for Mark Udall.