U.S. Senate
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(D) J. Hickenlooper*
(R) Somebody
80%
20%
Governor
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(D) Michael Bennet
(D) Phil Weiser
60%↑
50%↓
Att. General
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(D) M. Dougherty
(D) Jena Griswold
(D) David Seligman
40%
40%
30%
Sec. of State
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(D) A. Gonzalez
(D) J. Danielson
(R) Sheri Davis
50%
40%
30%
State Treasurer
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(D) Brianna Titone
(D) Jeff Bridges
(R) Kevin Grantham
40%
40%
30%
CO-01 (Denver)
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(D) Diana DeGette*
(R) Somebody
90%
2%
CO-02 (Boulder-ish)
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(D) Joe Neguse*
(R) Somebody
90%
2%
CO-03 (West & Southern CO)
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(R) Jeff Hurd*
(D) Somebody
80%
40%
CO-04 (Northeast-ish Colorado)
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(R) Lauren Boebert*
(D) Trisha Calvarese
(D) Eileen Laubacher
90%
20%
20%
CO-05 (Colorado Springs)
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(R) Jeff Crank*
(D) Somebody
80%
20%
CO-06 (Aurora)
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(D) Jason Crow*
(R) Somebody
90%
10%
CO-07 (Jefferson County)
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(D) B. Pettersen*
(R) Somebody
90%
10%
CO-08 (Northern Colo.)
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(R) Gabe Evans*
(D) Manny Rutinel
(D) Yadira Caraveo
45%↓
40%↑
30%
State Senate Majority
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DEMOCRATS
REPUBLICANS
80%
20%
State House Majority
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DEMOCRATS
REPUBLICANS
95%
5%
January 13, 2009 02:45 AM UTC
31 Comments
The confirmation hearings are going to start this week. Don’t know if or when Salazar’s hearing is scheduled.
My question is, if Bennet does reach out to the latino community (in Pueblo and elsewhere) will he be accepted? Or will he be rebuked because of the (understandable) hard feelings that still exist because of the lack of latino voices in higher elected office?
He’s making the trip down there tomorrow, so I hope that he and his people arrange a meeting.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/…
Salazar goes Thursday. Since he’s on the Energy & NR Committee as well, does he get to question himself? 🙂
Latino community than Pueblo. When was the last time Pueblo produced a statewide candidate, much less one who got elected? (It was Bill Thiebaut, who ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor.) It’s a great little town, but Pueblo isn’t the crucial part of statewide Democratic coalition it was 30 years ago. It’s about as consequential as Trinidad.*
*That’s no knock on Trinidad or Pueblo, they’re both rich in history and vibrant communities, for their size, but that’s it.
…concern about whether the Latino community (“in Pueblo and elsewhere”) will accept Bennet.
Also, what are the Latino numbers in Aurora and Pueblo that you have in mind? Gracias.
and I thank you for pointing that out. In the future, I will try to be more directly responsive.
According to the U.S. Census estimates, Aurora has 60,109 residents of Hispanic or Latino origin. Pueblo has 45,745. (Denver, by the way, has 179,730, and I’d venture Bennet has a leg up gaining “acceptance” with that group.)
..also feel free to wander off into the weeds when responding, I don’t mind. In fact, I’ve made a career out of it. I just wanted to be sure I wasn’t missing some crucial nexus.
So you think the Denver Latino community will accept Bennet with open arms? But wasn’t there some recent press coverage of some Denver Latinos complaining about Bennet’s appointment, among others?
I think the issue is Pueblo and Adams County (a good chunk of the Latino population of Aurora is in Adams County.
I posted earlier that a state-wide Dem still needs to poll strongly with Latino and African-American voters.
A white business oriented centrist Democrat may do well in JeffCo and Arapahoe. But that candidate still needs strong votes out of Denver and Boulder. And in Denver that also means as much minority vote as can be gotten to the polls. If there is little enthusiasm from minority communities in Denver, Adams and Pueblo, that hurts voter turnout and can make a difference.
I can tell you that the anger that is out there is palpable and the Salazar brothers are among the angry. You won’t hear it in public statements, but what you will hear is the sort of luke-warm comment from John Salazar.
I also know that there are some big Dem fund raisers who are also not happy with the pick. Not necessarily because of the same reasons that some Latino’s are unhappy, they are unhappy because the see it as a politically naive and risky choice. There are at least two that I know of who have openly talked about finding someone to primary Ritter over this. I don’t think at the end of the day, that any Dem with credibility is willing at this point to do that, but it does demonstrate the level of unhappiness with Ritter that is there.
When Ritter comes to the well in the future for campaign cash or help, he may just hear:
“I gave at the office.”
has high symbolic regard as a center of Latino culture in Colorado, as it should. I’m just saying, Bennet has been front and center for a much larger Hispanic population (in Denver as Hick’s chief of staff and running DPS) for years, and by most accounts has been fairly popular.
The Latino community’s complaints about three white men filling three recent high-profile vacancies — that’s another discussion, which redstate raised, and I don’t have the answer to that, I’ll be interested to see how it plays out. I think Ritter (and his SoS vetting committee) made a mistake sidelining Rodriguez for that appointment, and DPS jumped the gun by not reaching out to the Denver Latino community before naming Bennet’s replacement. As for Bennet’s nomination, I think there were strong reasons to keep John Salazar in the House (not the least, dynastic perceptions highlighted by Senate vacancy difficulty in Illinois and New York), and neither Solano nor Baca were viable candidates.
I am talking about the potential lack of a vote for Ritter. Regardless of how Latino’s in Denver may or may not feel about Bennet, they are not happy with Ritter and that may translate into a lack of vote for Ritter, or worse they just don’t go to the polls.
My point is that Ritter or Bennet neither one can win state-wide without a good turnout of minority voters.
I am not really disagreeing with you regarding whether Bennet might or might not be acceptable to Latinos in Denver (or anywhere else) it is the process that is angering people and Bennet is not necessarily the target (it is Ritter and a sense of disenfranchisement in the process)but he may get caught in the crossfire.
I was still typing when you posted above about the unhappiness with Ritter. Your observation that Bennet might get caught in the crossfire is spot on.
Is there anything Ritter can do to fix things with his fundraisers or the Latino community, or will he just have to hope the storm passes?
He has not indicated over the last two years that he has any political savvy at all. I don’t know whether he is getting bad advice or is ignoring any good advice he may get.
He has fumbled so many issues in the last two years that it is difficult to understand exactly what is going on in his inner circle.
Worse, he has fumbled these issues for no reason.
Any decision one makes is bound to alienate some group or entity, but Ritter has managed to alienate almost every group/constituency and has no base/core constituency.
Frankly, there is an arrogance that emanates from his office that is not healthy (politically).
Polling at just 48% within a year in which Democrats are polling extremely well in Colorado does not bode well for him. He should be worried, but is he? I’m not sure, that is why I say I am not sure he really understands he has a problem.
Can he fix this and the other problems he has? Yes. Will he? I’m not convinced.
Part of the problem may be who indeed he is listening to. It could be persons who have other interests.
I understand that the key players in naming Bennet were Jim Lyons, Trey Rogers and David Kenney.
hard feelings by immediately fixing on the usual white dude as the sole candidate under consideration to replace Bennet as DPS super. That seemed pretty tone deaf.
That was the school board. They were on the same page as far as the tone deafness, but you can’t blame Ritter for that one.
I find it hard to believe there is no communication, official or un, between the school board and Ritter on the situation that arose because of Ritter’s choice for the Senate. Enough tone deafness to go around.
There is far more happening like “WATER” Pinon Canyon and renewable energy. It is about understanding the major issues of a major portion of the state that has been held hostage to Front Range growth and greed. It may seem miniscule to some, but you bring together the Southeast, San Luis Valley and the Western Slope you have a whole different perspective.
Not being at the Pueblo events yesterday, I have heard it got quite heated about the process of selection between some of the locals and the Governor.
And Bennet has a record of reaching out to and working with the community, so I don’t think there’s any “if” about it.
I think the bridges he’s built there during his DPS tenure is one of the things observers and pundits have overlooked.
What is the 57% Hispanic number represent? Is that the total population? Is it over-weighted to younger grades due to the age distribution of Tancredo’s ‘guests’?
If so, with the 50% drop out rate we should expect to see thousands of Hispanics default on their HS education and of those that ‘pass’ and go on to highed 50%+ will require remedial education.
All this from the self professed top public school district in the nation? 😉
ps I almost forgot … ProgressNow TPs require someone to post below that it is all the fault of Bill Owens and CSAP.
Damning with faint praise?
Plus:
Well, so what? I assume that most everyone believes that Ritter did what he thought was right, but that doesn’t address the question of whether Ritter was right. Salazar’s comments were a long way of saying nothing, really, in support of Ritter’s pick.
Pretty audacious, I would say.
The audacity, thinking they get to decide whether what their elected officials do is “right”!
..I’m sorry if that affront you
You had the right to determine what is right.
Nothing about hope.
That seems to be the way it is in a good part of the state, at least in the reports I have heard from the front range. There is also talk of a primary for both gentlemen. We’ll see. All this in spite of the love fest you have been reporting for Bennet. It is possible to be polite while angry. A large turnout everywhere is rational, what the hell do we know about the man?
There are three meetings here in Pueblo tomorrow. One for VIPs, the pancake breakfast at the Depot and a Solar Park dedication at CSU-Pueblo. Again, we’ll see.
the “political elite” is upset that their list of finalists did not include Bennet, but the rest of the state is fine with him.
I think there is a bit of people being upset that Ritter appointed someone they didn’t consider to be in the running.
and are now in danger of losing their jobs for predicting things that didn’t happen.
Oh wait, that never happens. Nobody has more job security than a pundit.
Great bit on a “school” for pundits.
http://www.hulu.com/watch/5255…
fine with him? For good or ill the “elite” of either party are in control and have the institutional memory, to say nothing of the contacts, to press forward and maintain an agenda. A very thick hide is necessary to last over the long haul in politics and most newcomers just don’t have it or they don’t want their idealism sullied. Most of the people on this site have gotten down and dirty in the trenches and soldiered on anyway.
The VIP meeting in Pueblo was heated. When asked about the issues jfenter brought up above, Bennet said he didn’t know anything about them. The public meeting was pleasant and polite. I was not reassured by Mr Bennet and I wanted to be.
I am genuinely curious. Will Puebloans who are as concerned as you defect to the GOP (get ready, they’re comin’ a courtin’) stand by without supporting him, or what?
I’m genuinely curious.
We’re mostly yellow dog dems here. Vote Republican? Cut out your tongue/typing fingers. We’ll assess the probabilities and if they are good mount a primary. Otherwise, hunker down and plan for the next cycle. We’re in this for the long haul and we won’t be responsible for getting a Repug elected.
Just checking.