June 28, 2010 01:13 AM UTC

The Only Possible Result

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• by: Colorado Pols

As the Grand Junction Sentinel’s Charles Ashby reports:

Kathleen Curry is hoping to do what no one has done before.

The Gunnison legislator wants to win re-election to her House District 61 seat without having her name on the ballot.

The three-term representative knows that’s never been done before, but says she isn’t afraid to try…

Republican Party Chairman Dick Wadhams said he expects Curry could pick up Democratic and unaffiliated voters in the district, but not many Republicans.

As a result, Wadhams is betting Curry’s decision to be in the race regardless of whether she’s on the ballot could be enough to turn it in the Republican’s favor. The three-way race has made the district one of a dozen House seats the GOP is targeting in its effort to win the majority in the Legislature. [Pols emphasis]

We’ll start with the obvious: Rep. Kathleen Curry cannot possibly win a write-in election. We understand that she is the incumbent, and that she’ll be able to garner a percentage of votes significantly higher than most write-in bids. It won’t be nearly enough. It’s worth pointing out, of course, that most write-in candidacies–by that we mean ‘serious’ efforts, not runs by comedians or porn stars, which sometimes do amusingly well–are usually handily beaten by various Warner Bros. and Disney cartoon characters. It’s a fool’s errand, especially so far down the ballot.

It’s also pretty much indisputable that Curry’s write-in bid will pull votes from the Democratic nominee for the seat, Roger Wilson. HD-61 is an independent-plurality district, but independent voters breaking for Curry would choose Wilson over ex-minor U.S. Senate candidate Luke Korkowski, previously, uh, notable for his “Free Colorado” Bikeathon tour. Quite simply, there’s no way to add up the votes here and see anything other than a split vote between Curry and Wilson, meaning Rep. Korkowski is the most likely outcome. If we were Dick Wadhams, this race would be at the top of our list too–perhaps with a little Texas Green Party-style helping hand?

Keep an eye on those disclosures, folks.

Bottom line: the only purpose Curry can serve in HD-61 now is to assist in the election of the Republican candidate. If Curry receives a number of votes greater than the margin of victory for Korkowski, or even gets close enough to show an operation that suppressed support for the Democratic nominee, the loss of the seat to a rather immoderate GOP candidate is her responsibility–period. Whatever long-term implications that may have for Kathleen Curry’s career and legacy, there will be no ambiguity on the blame from her erstwhile friends the morning after.