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July 25, 2008 08:17 PM UTC

Denver Post Endorsements: Shafroth, Crank, Coffman

  • 36 Comments
  • by: RedGreen

( – promoted by Colorado Pols)

In the “newspapers make news” category, The Denver Post unveiled its endorsements in the three Congressional primaries at noon today:

Endorsement: Coffman’s got the experience

We think Mike Coffman’s political and policy experience makes him the best choice for the 6th CD.

Endorsement: Shafroth best of solid candidates

Overall, Will Shafroth is the best fit for Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District.  

Endorsement: Crank is the right change

Jeff Crank has the conservative sensibilities of the 5th Congressional District, but he also seems willing to work with others in the Colorado delegation for the betterment of state interests.

Editorial page editor Dan Haley is also chatting live with interested readers at the Opnion page. Questions can be submitted in advance by e-mail to rrisch@denverpost.com.

The endorsements are linked above. Excerpts and a poll follow.

From the Shafroth endorsement:

… [O]verall, Will Shafroth is the best fit for Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District.

He may be an outsider, as he’s casting himself in this increasingly nasty primary, but he’s been enmeshed in public policy for years and along the way has picked up skills that will prove invaluable in Washington, D.C.

… But what really impressed us about Shafroth was his measured take on the issues. His views were more realistic and consistent with the 2nd Congressional District, which is so much more than Boulder. It stretches from Basalt on the west to Dacono on the east.

… He doesn’t have a long political history, but that’s part of his appeal.

Congress doesn’t need more politicians. It needs more level heads, and people who are beholden only to their constituents.

From the Crank endorsement:

… It will be difficult for either one to unseat the congressman, but there’s clearly enough dissatisfaction with Lamborn within Republican Party and business ranks that both men have been able to finance expensive campaigns to try to do just that.

… Crank has the conservative sensibilities of the district, but he also seems willing to work with others in the Colorado delegation for the betterment of state interests.

While going to bat for your constituents is a good thing, as a single congressman you are only one vote unless you find a way to work with others. We think Crank is better suited to that task than Lamborn.

… Overall, we think the 5th would be best served with a change of representation to someone who could be more responsive to the district and its interests. That person is Crank

.

From the Coffman endorsement:

Armstrong is an affable, smart and well-connected candidate (his father, Bill, was a two-term U.S. senator representing the state). Harvey is a stalwart conservative and Ward possesses broad knowledge of economic and policy issues.

But we think Coffman, a fiscal conservative with experience in the state House, the military and as state treasurer, is the best qualified candidate.

… Coffman, whose oversight as state treasurer helped guide the St. Vrain school district out of a budget deficit in 2002-03, has shown he knows how to deal with difficult financial situations.

A few of his fellow Republicans don’t want Coffman to win because they don’t want the party to lose the Secretary of State’s office. But we’re confident that if he’s elected, whatever the party thinks it may be losing, constituents in the 6th would gain a tireless fighter.

His opponents may have similar policy views, but Coffman is a proven leader and is best positioned to serve Colorado’s 6th District.

Does the Denver Post endorsement matter?

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36 thoughts on “Denver Post Endorsements: Shafroth, Crank, Coffman”

    1. Typing as fast as I can! The Crank endorsement didn’t show up on the main Opinion page to begin with but Haley provided the link in the live chat.

    2. Coffman is the only real choice in the 6th, unless you’re trying to suck up to Bill Armstrong.  The paper’s endorsement of Coffman is no real surprise.

      I continue to be impressed with Shafroth’s ability to rack up major endorsements.  His campaign has not been as visible in the mountains as either of the other two candidates, and I continue to suffer a knowledge deficit when it comes to his campaign.  He’s obviously doing something right somewhere.

        1. If you are running in Boulder or Denver it might mean something but if you are trying to win in a conservative district like the 6th, not so much.  As a conservative, I wouldn’t want the endorsement of such a liberal paper.

          1. Of course the Denver Post endorsement helps anywhere in the State.

            It is not enough to save Shafroth and Crank from third place finishes. Lousy campaigns will not be rescued by a late endorsement from a newspaper but they can help in a close race.

            Coffman was cruising and was headed to a 50% plus win with our without the endorsement. Same with Lamborn.  Has BullO8 forgotten the scathing denunciation of collective bargaining on the front page of the Denver Post?  

            1. CD6 will be close for sure and the winner will be lucky to pull 35%, it won’t be Coffman.  

              I know you liberals on this site live in a sheltered world and will find this hard to believe but the buzz in the 6th has turned.  Coffman comes in second with 30-31%.

              Dustin will never admit it but his numbers show the same. A funny thing happened during this campaign, Iraq and national security took a big slide down.  The soccer moms are more concerned about how much it costs to fill up the SUV to get little Johnny to the game. Coffman is not real strong on the Energy issues especially when it comes to drilling.

              1. If you really have inside information Bull08 than tell us more. All of the polling has shown Coffman with a huge lead. If Armstrong has some polling showing a different result than educate us. Harvey has no money to poll. You may be right that the Denver Post would love to see Speaker Romanoff as Secretary of State.  

                Coffman and Lamborn have had solid leads from day one and that ha not changed.

                The buzz in CD 2 is that the early favorite Fitz-Gerald has relinguished the lead and Polis is now up by ten.

                As for being a liberal please refer back to my posts about Senator Obama.  

                1. from what I hear this race is tight and Coffman has been sliding the last few weeks.  There has been alot of mail & ads against Mike that seems to be working.  This one will come down to the wire and if the trend continues, Mike stays as SOS.

  2. congratulations to both candidates – I’m sure ALL of the candidates actively sought this endorsement.

    It goes to show that the contests are absolutely up for grabs and that no candidate has as much of an advantage as their loyal supporters and campaign staff think – this will be a year of upsets in numerous political races in our state – that much I can guarantee

    perhaps the big line to the <—– needs an update?

  3. I’m a Will supporter, but the major daily’s often counter program each other in a close race.

    After the RMN I didn’t think Shafroth would get the post because getting both Major Dailies is tough in a close race.

    1. and he said that’s a myth, first of all the other paper’s endorsement doesn’t affect theirs (they’re on a long schedule with all the interviews, so come to a decision before they even know who the other paper picked), and besides they both endorsed Hickenlooper in ’03.

      I’ve done endorsements before, for both weeklies and dailies, and can tell you it’s not even a consideration what other papers say.

      But you’re right, the Shafroth endorsement, coupled with the Rocky’s, is something, and has the potential to make the most difference. Polis and Fitz-Gerald have run their entire campaigns against each other and actively worked to marginalize Shafroth. These major endorsements give leaners cover to vote for Shafroth without feeling they’re throwing away their vote.

      I’ve heard, but am not sure, that the Camera will not be endorsing in the primary. (That’s common for some papers, to stay out of primaries, even when the result foretells the general.) So this is it for the 2nd.

      The Crank endorsement is also interesting, though will have less impact because Springs residents don’t like being told what to do by Denver. Read the whole thing — it’s remarkable to the extent it simply dismisses Lamborn, as opposed to the other endorsements, which find things to praise in all the candidates. Of course, the Gazette endorsement will carry much more weight.

      The Coffman pick is least consequential — only because it confirms what seems to be a foregone conclusion. Haley did say in the live chat that the board found Armstrong talented and hopes he pursues a run for the Statehouse if he loses the primary.

    2. so I have to wonder what their real agenda is.  George Bush is as dumb as a rock but any newspaper that didn’t see that in 2004 is even dumber.

      Polis scares the crap out of Haley because Polis is a rich unrepentant progressive.  Wouldn’t want someone in Congress that would go toe to toe over universal health care.

      FitzGerald is over qualified because she has shown that she can work with Republicans at the state level and still accomplish a progressive agenda.

      Shafroth is the weakest of the three so he gets the endorsement.

      1.    Don’t forget JFG’s strong ties to labor, Polis’ under-writing the Dem state takeover.

        Look at it thru the lens of protecting the business community, and it makes more sense.

        1. The paper’s endorsement reads 100% like an endorsement of the “most moderate candidate” in the race.  They cite the district’s broad reach into the mountain counties and that the entire district isn’t like Boulder.

          I hate to say break it to the editorial board, but the mountains had no problems with Joan’s outspoken liberal record, and I believe Polis did well in the region in his runs for statewide BoE, too.

        3. is that it’s going to be over in two weeks.

          Shafroth blew it with me when he pooh-poohed the MPB epidemic and repeated standard Forest Service propaganda that nothing could be done about it.  He came across as another city dweller who doesn’t get it.  For all his conservation credentials, he didn’t offer any constructive ideas on how to deal with the magnitude of this problem.  The beetles are going to eat their way down through the Flatirons and kill pine trees in Boulder.  The forest service is managing the Front Range forests like they are wilderness which means allowing all the public land to be 100% infected.  They (the forest service) claim that it is too risky to do any controlled burns to deal with this massive die off but they have no problems allowing an uncontrolled burn to pump thousands of tons of carbon into the air.  Shafroth goes along with this tripe like it is no big deal.  It is a big deal to me because I live in the red zone and I see it as a total policy failure.

          I spoke to Joan about it last week and she wants to release FEMA money and start treating this situation like a hurricane threat.  Jared wants to get the National Forest Service to waive their no cutting rules so that the high country communities can mobilize citizen groups to clean up the public land around their subdivisions.  You compare the three candidates and Joan and Jared are head and shoulders above Shafroth in understanding the urgency of acting to save our Front Range forests.  Sorry if that is boring to you but I want someone in Congress that gives a damn.

  4. [cross posted from another diary but dont crucify me… seems to fit better here.]

    Keep in mind that Crank has raised more money from individuals than either of his opponents.

    It’s also notable that Crank is maintaining a significant presence on radio and TV which leads me to believe his incoming money this quarter must be pretty good. Lamborn on the other hand is off TV and his radio seems like it’s down to just one station and I rarely hear them anymore. (He has new TV on his website so maybe he’ll be buying more time soon?)

    I’ve also received multiple (Three? Four?) mail pieces from Crank including a first class letter and some others… versus one piece from Lamborn and zero from Rayburn.

    I think that Crank is doing well in the absentee chase, Lamborn is trying but seems to be conserving his money to stretch it through the next 18 days. Rayburn? I’m not sure he know what he’s doing.

    …My two cents from the peanut gallery.

    1. For your wonderfully unbaised and accurate statements.

      Though you’re absolutely incorrect on Lamborn being off TV, unless this happened in the past day. I saw him two days ago during the news. Crank is shooting off mail to absentee voters because it’s cheaper than TV. Lamborn’s owned the airwaves this cycle, and he has twice as much money as Crank to spend.

      But I got to hand it to Crank, he’s racking up the endorsements.

      http://coloradopols.com/showDi…

      2. RE: Thanks Crank supporter.

        …But I got to hand it to Crank, he’s racking up the endorsements…

        You forgot El Paso counties premier left wing newsweekly, the Independent’s endorsement of Crank. They also endorsed Obama a while back.

        So there you have it. Liberals newspapers oppose effective Conservatives and endorse their less Conservative opponents. What a shock.

        You also forgot the endorsement of the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce that Jeff Crank used to work for.  Oh wait, that went to Congressman Doug Lamborn.  My mistake.

          1. I was actually inspired to write because of the Indy, but added the Denver Post when it broke as well.

            I’ve noticed that the Indy tends to endorse the most liberal Republican during the primaries, and whichever Democrat is running in the general.

            1. If they did, Doug Lamborn would win in a landslide.

              Did you see or hear Doug Bruce’s comment.

              When asked to come down and talk about receiving their endorsement, he replied “What makes you think I want your endorsement.  Endorse my Opponent PLEASE.”

  6. the more it matters.

    A Presidential endorsement is meaningless.  A U.S. Senate endorsement is nearly meaningless.  Congressional endorsements mean more in the primary than in the general.

    And so on.

    The less a voter knows, the more likely a voter is to defer to editorial judgment, and voters know more about races as they get to the top of the ticket.

  7. Good Job Mike you deserve to be Congressman Coffman.  

    The endorsment will be great for the general election ads.  

    Mike will do a great job for Colorado.

    1. Do you have anything to back that up, other than a wish and a hope? Because voters agreed with the Post’s Post’s endorsements eight out of 10 times in major races in 2006.

      Sounds to me more like oklahoma09‘s endorsement is the kiss of death.

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