UPDATE (11:25): The big Denver paper and many of the other big TV stations have some major problems with their reporting. The Denver Post, for example, had Buck ahead of Bennet 48-46, on the strength of a 52-45 advantage in Boulder. A quick check of the Boulder Clerk and Recorder's website has Bennet leading Buck 67-29. There are a lot of somebodies who should have caught this immediately -- there's no way Boulder County would go solid red for any Republican.
We recommend sticking with the results from Fox 31, which not only has a page that seems to actually load correctly, but isn't making any obvious errors that we can see.
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UPDATE (11:16): It looks like we may be headed for at least one state legislative recount. In HD-29, Democratic Rep. Debbie Benefield trails Republican Robert Ramirez by 148 votes (50.34% to 49.66%).
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UPDATE (11:12): That didn't last long. With 56% of ballots counted, Bennet and Buck are now tied at 47-47.
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UPDATE (11:00): Buck has pulled ahead of Bennet for the first time tonight, leading 49-46 with 49% of precincts reporting.
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UPDATE (9:50): It's looking like the race that will have the biggest impact from an ACP candidate will not be the one anybody expected. The Secretary of State race is neck-and-neck, but the ACP candidate is already pulling 6% of the vote. Buescher may well win this seat by virtue of the American Constitution Party.
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UPDATE (9:44): The percentage of precincts reporting continues to rise, and Michael Bennet continues to hold a 50-45 lead over Ken Buck. This is not good news for Buck, because early returns should have favored him (Republicans voted in higher numbers than Democrats in early and absentee voting). Given Buck's numerous gaffes in the last two weeks of the campaign, it's not likely that late voters are going to choose him over Bennet, so it's hard to see how Buck is going to make up 5 points with 27% of the vote already tallied.
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UPDATE (9:08): It's always fun to see those really early returns that show absurd numbers. In HD-22, Democrat Christine Radeff is pummeling Republican incumbent Ken Summers 7,875 to 12. Yes, 12. For a few more minutes, anyway.
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UPDATE (9:05): Republican Cory Gardner is being declared the winner in CD-4.
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UPDATE (9:03): The Secretary of State race is coming down to the wire, and may be decided by the number of votes pulled in by the American Constitution Party candidate. Meanwhile, the race for Attorney General seems to be widening in favor of incumbent John Suthers.
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UPDATE (9:00): Democratic Rep. Ed Perlmutter has been declared the winner in CD-7.
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John Salazar has signed on to a letter to Pelosi and Hoyer pushing for a one year extension of all tax cuts, including those with income over $250,000.
The letter-written by Utah Rep. Jim Matheson, Illinois Rep. Melissa Bean, Virginia Rep. Glenn Nye and Michigan Rep. Gary Peters-states that after listening to economists, small businesses and families over recent weeks they are concerned that "raising any taxes right now could negatively impact economic growth."
Yes, he's a Democrat. Yes, he's an incumbent. But we've always believed that Rep. John Salazar would be fine in November, and today's news that he has received the endorsement of the National Rifle Association (NRA) is a good example of that.
Salazar has routinely won re-election in CD-3 in large part because voters don't look at him like a Democrat. The NRA's endorsement only helps that perception, and makes it much harder for Republican Scott Tipton to paint Salazar as just another liberal politician puppet of Nancy Pelosi, blah, blah, blah.
The campaign of Republican Scott Tipton in CD-3 has never really been able to get off the ground, and if the Q2 fundraising reports are any indication, Tipton's efforts at unseating Rep. John Salazar are basically done.
Tipton raised just $109,341 in Q2, for a total cash on hand amount of $204,993. Salazar, meanwhile, raised more in Q2 than Tipton has in the bank period, bringing home $226,633 for a total cash on hand amount of $1,255,711.
The Grand Junction Sentinel's resident right-wing "reporter" Gary Harmondutifully reports Rep. John Salazar's denunciation of Howard Dean's months-old website listing Salazar as a supporter of the public option:
A Web site operated by former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean claims U.S. Rep.John Salazar, D-Colo., as a supporter of the public option for health care.
Republicans pounced on the characterization, and a Salazar spokesman sharply renounced it.
U.S. Rep. John Salazar Friday responded to a League of Conservation Voters TV ad campaign blasting him for voting no on the Waxman-Markey climate change bill by defending his record on green jobs creation and criticizing the bill for its potential economic impacts for Colorado families.
"I have a strong track record of creating green jobs and investing in renewable energy both in Colorado and across the nation. I am very proud of that record," Salazar said in an e-mail response to the Colorado Independent. "While I strongly agree the issue of climate change must be addressed, this specific bill would have placed a disproportionate financial impact on individual households in Colorado's Third Congressional District and, for that reason, I could not support it."
Salazar, a blue-dog Democrat from the largely rural and agrarian Western Slope, is the brother of Interior Secretary and former U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar. He has taken a pounding from green groups for being the only Democratic member of the Colorado delegation to vote against the bill, which passed by a scant 7-vote margin of 219-212 in June. The Senate will take it up after the August recess.
The ad challenging Salazar's vote began running last week, and is a good example of how progressive groups are becoming less afraid of going after Democrats who have been not-so-supportive of certain progressive ideals.
