May 01, 2018 11:54 AM UTC

Big Endorsements Bracket Dem Governor's Race

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• by: Colorado Pols

Denver7’s Blair Miller reports on big endorsements for the two frontrunners in the Democratic gubernatorial primary: former Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar backing Cary Kennedy, and former Rep. Pat Schroeder endorsing Jared Polis–two of Colorado’s best-known senior Democratic statespeople on opposite sides of this red-hot race:

Two of Colorado’s Democratic candidates for governor picked up big endorsements Tuesday from former members of Congress from the state, and another candidate showed off her new tattoo.

Cary Kennedy won the endorsement of former U.S. senator and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar Tuesday morning, while former U.S. Rep. Pat Schroeder endorsed Jared Polis in the race…

Salazar is the former state attorney general, served as a U.S. senator from 2005 to 2009, and was the Interior Secretary under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013.

Schroeder, who endorsed Polis Tuesday, became Colorado’s first female member of Congress when she was elected in 1972 to serve the state’s 1st congressional district at age 32.

In both cases these are endorsements that will carry real weight among Democratic primary voters. It’s tough to say which candidate benefits more from their respective endorsement. Ken Salazar is one of Colorado’s most celebrated Democratic lawmakers, and was considered a likely gubernatorial contender himself before the field took shape. Pat Schroeder, on the other hand, is an icon of the women’s rights movement and a fixture in Colorado politics spanning decades.

We’ll let readers hash out the relative merits, but they both have plenty to celebrate.