September 11, 2010 02:12 AM UTC

When is Bennet's "Term" Officially Over?

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• by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE: Bennet’s campaign tells the Wall Street Journal’s anonymous source “thanks for speculating” in a report at the Denver newspaper today, but he’ll be serving his full term regardless of what happens in November. And the Secretary of State’s spokesman Rich Coolidge confirms that Bennet’s term runs until the next Congress is sworn in January–assuming the relevancy of the question to begin with, naturally.

A nice rumor to plant, but Karl Rove doesn’t need any more reasons to spend money here.

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Interesting blog post today at the Wall Street Journal regarding Sen. Michael Bennet and speculation about a potential lame-duck session of Congress after Election Day:

There seems to be a dispute brewing over when Colorado’s new U.S. senator would take his seat, at least if Republican Ken Buck beats incumbent Sen. Michael Bennet in November.

State officials tell Washington Wire the new senator would be sworn in on Jan. 3, with the new Congress. But Republican officials say the state law indicates that Bennet’s term, since he was appointed to fill a vacancy, should actually end immediately after the election.

Four other Democratic Senators who were appointed to their current posts are also up for re-election this year, so we’ll likely be hearing more about this at some point. In the meantime, are there any election law Polsters out there who can tell us the Colorado answer? Whether or not Bennet is re-elected, technically there is an end date on his current term, right?

As confusing as this may be, it could be worse — we could be in Illinois:

In Obama’s old Senate seat in Illinois, where the term of appointed Sen. Roland Burris ends after the election, voters will actually vote twice in that race in November – to fill the final weeks of Obama’s unexpired term and then for the new Senate term starting in January.