March 06, 2017 11:54 AM UTC

Sorry, Ken Salazar Does Not Have Until "End of Summer"

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• by: Colorado Pols

Denver Post political reporters Mark Matthews and John Frank published a story this weekend that focuses on the incipient 2018 gubernatorial race, and the possibility of former U.S. Senator Ken Salazar making a run to replace Gov. John Hickenlooper:

If he wants it, Ken Salazar has the chops and connections to make a hard run at the governor’s mansion in 2018.

His resume includes four years in the U.S. Senate, four years as U.S. Interior Secretary and a fortune’s worth of contacts in Democratic politics. He has more than a passing interest, too.

“Probably by the end of the summer, I will make a decision about what I’m going to do,” Salazar said in an interview with The Denver Post…

One prominent Democrat, former state Sen. Mike Johnston, already announced his candidacy. Congressman Ed Perlmutter of Arvada, former state treasurer Cary Kennedy and several others are eyeing a run, too.

Make no mistake, our purpose here is not to disparage the possibility that Ken Salazar might run for governor in 2018. As one of Colorado’s longest-serving elder statesmen still considered viable for another run for high office, it’s absolutely right that Salazar would be a powerful contender both in the general election and, in the event, a Democratic primary.

With that said, the story’s authors make another observation that should instill a sense of urgency in Salazar:

[W]hatever Salazar decides, it won’t be enough to clear the Democratic field — a situation that speaks to the upheaval that has gripped the Democratic Party in the past year and only tightened since President Donald Trump captured the White House.

There have been many points in Ken Salazar’s career when he was in a sufficiently comfortable position politically to have the luxury of setting his own timeline. As a former U.S. Senator and Interior Secretary during President Barack Obama’s first term, Salazar is Colorado’s highest-ranked Democrat and a logical choice to succeed Gov. Hickenlooper.

One major problem for Ken Salazar is that today there is a wealth of talent in the ranks of Colorado Democrats, waiting to move up in a hierarchy that Salazar hasn’t been part of for several years. In that time, we wouldn’t say that support for Salazar has waned so much as others have worked hard to cultivate their own bases of support. And that support would naturally come at someone else’s expense, like Salazar’s in a primary.

The hard fact at this point is, the Denver Post is right. There are enough talented and experienced Democrats looking at the governor’s race that Ken Salazar can no longer assume a cleared field upon entry. Salazar simply no longer can count on inevitability today where perhaps he might have in a previous election.

And that means if Salazar doesn’t make up his mind until “the end of the summer,” the decision may already be made for him.