One of the most conservative Republicans in the state Senate is taking on a two-term Democrat in a congressional district that includes the liberal stronghold of Boulder.
Sen. Kevin Lundberg of Berthoud said Monday that he will challenge Democratic Rep. Jared Polis in Colorado's 2nd Congressional District...
Lundberg is not up for re-election in the state Senate until 2014, so he will remain in office if he fails to unseat Polis. The Republican says his challenge of Polis is "kind of like David versus Goliath."
So far, the only official statement we can find is this on Sen. Kevin Lundberg's website:
Based on strong support from citizens of the Second Congressional District Kevin has decided to move forward with a campaign.
To be honest, your guess is as good as ours as to what kind of "support" has truly been demonstrated for the comically arch-conservative Sen. Lundberg challenging incumbent Democratic Rep. Jared Polis. Lundberg has a reputation for taking the most embarrassingly far-out position in the General Assembly on just about everything, from climate change denial to his short-lived "Dr. Laura" divorce impediment bill. Lundberg's website claims that "1,580 people have already given their support," but his Facebook "Like" button only shows about 125--and some of them are almost certainly Democrats keeping tabs on him. Lundberg has been sending out emails to a list of Republicans asking for support and "prayers" (see an example of one of these emails after the jump), and had set a Jan. 7 deadline for making up his mind--apparently he heard enough from others to convince him to pull the trigger.
We'd say that if no more credible Republican challenger emerges to Rep. Polis, one of the wealthiest members of Congress and one of the more powerful members given his level of seniority, that can be taken as a sign that Republicans have written the CD-2 race off. Redistricting may have made CD-2 somewhat more competitive, but less so against a strong incumbent like Polis--and not at all for a hardcore ideologue like Lundberg. Quite frankly, Lundberg is so far-right that he would have a hard time winning in a district with a slight Republican lean.
In the meantime, on any issue you can name and as only Lundberg can, this should entertain.
The Colorado AFL-CIO today released its "2011 Working Families Scorecard," the first time that the labor organization has released its legislative scorecard to the general public.
It should come as no surprise that Democrats generally rated better than Republicans on legislation tracked by the AFL-CIO (17 Senate Democrats and 20 House Democrats received 100% scores). At the low end, Republican Rep. Don Beezley picked up the worst score, at 27%; Rep. Wes McKinley and Rep. Sue Schafer hold the ignominious tie for the lowest score among Democrats with 79%.
There were a few interesting scores that raised our collective eyebrows:
Republican Sen. Greg Brophy: 50% score
Republican Sen. Kevin Lundberg: 39% score
Brophy and Lundberg are the leaders of the ultra-right wing of the Republican Party among Colorado legislators, and their scores weren't all that bad for bills backed by labor interests -- especially considering that their lifetime scores are 26% and 19%, respectively.
Speaker of the House Frank McNulty and House Majority Leader Amy Stephens: 47% score.
We wonder if McNulty and Stephens intentionally tried to stay below 50%, but these are numbers that could prove harmful to the re-election prospects of each should they face a primary challenge.
Democratic Rep. John Soper: 88%
An electrician by trade, Soper is one of the few former union members in the legislature and has a 98% lifetime score -- which makes his opposition on 3 pieces of tracked legislation in 2011 all the more curious.
Democratic Rep. Ed Casso: 80%
Casso has always tried to trumpet himself as "labor's best friend," with a lifetime score of 95% and high-profile public battles with former GovernorBill Ritter on his resume. Casso's working-class image took a hit over his Payday Lender support, and this 80% score--which is one point away from being the worst score for a Democrat--comes at a bad time for someone looking at a potential run for higher office if redistricting is kind to his Adams County roots. Casso has never struck anyone as being the brightest bulb in the lamp, but this is particularly awkward for him ahead of 2012.
You can view the full scorecard here, or read the press release after the jump.
Tomorrow evening (we believe it's 5:00 p.m., if you were wondering about the specific time) is the deadline for Gubernatorial candidates to choose their Lieutenant Governor running mate. As CBS4 reported over the weekend, Republican Gubernatorial nominee Dan Maes (it still feels weird to write that) was holed up in the Maes Cave over the weekend pondering the decision.
So who's it going to be? Who would be willing to take on the role, knowing full-well that a Maes victory is about as likely as the Tea Party building a mosque? We'd be surprised to see an up-and-coming Republican agree to the role, because it wouldn't be great for their career to sit on a ticket with a guy prone to bizarre insights like the U.N. bicycle conspiracy.
Apparently Maes told a Greeley radio station that he's looking at a Weld County resident with "legislative experience," which could mean someone like State Sen. Kevin Lundberg or Sen. Scott Renfroe. Lundberg would make sense, since he doesn't believe in Global Warming or, curiously telecommuting, and Maes is scared of bicycles because of the United Nations, or something. Oh, to be a fly on the wall in a policy discussion between Lundberg and Maes...
With Doug Bruce gone, the role of resident looney tune in the Republican Party needs to be filled. Rep. Kevin Lundberg seems more than up to the task, given his political history and his press release today essentially claiming that Global Warming is a hoax.
The Colorado House voted 62-1 today to censure Rep. Douglas Bruce for kicking a Rocky photographer on the House floor last week.
Bruce stood on the side of the chamber, not in the well as could have been required, as the censure was read aloud this morning.
The censure rebuked him for violating the House decorum and "ordinary standards of decency," by using physical force against Javier Manzano as the photographer crouched before the standing Bruce during the ceremonial morning prayer.
It was the first censure in the 131-year history of the Colorado legislature,
"We need to lead by example," said Rep. Steve King, R-Grand Junction, co-chair of the committee that recommended censure.
"Violence can not be tolerated in this house."...
...Rep. Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud was the lone vote against censure; rules barred Bruce from voting.
