August 11, 2017 09:51 AM UTC

Don't Blink, Colorado Dems!

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• by: Colorado Pols

Peter Marcus, outgoing reporter for the Colorado Springs Gazette mashes the “scramble” button on Democratic politics in Colorado in a big way–with news that Rep. Ed Perlmutter may run again for his CD-7 seat after pulling out of the gubernatorial race and giving every indication that he would retire:

Multiple sources confirmed that after Perlmutter was approached by constituents and fellow colleagues in Congress about a re-election campaign, he began reconsidering running for re-election. Sources could not speak on the record, as they were not at liberty to discuss the details of Perlmutter’s thoughts.

A re-election campaign would come after Perlmutter, a Democrat from Arvada who represents the 7th Congressional District in Jefferson and Adams counties, declared that he would not pursue the seat again.

Several Democrats have been running to replace Perlmutter in a tightly contested primary, including state Sens. Andy Kerr of Lakewood and Dominick Moreno of Commerce City, and state Rep. Brittany Pettersen, also of Lakewood. Also running in the race is former Obama-era U.S. ambassador Dan Baer.

A re-election bid by the popular Perlmutter could cripple those campaigns.

There’s nothing we can add to this report without more information, but we’ll update as soon as we know more. The fact is that Perlmutter is the incumbent representative for this district, and candidates stepping back into their old race after changing their mind on a bid for higher office is not without precedent (see: Marco Rubio). With that said, we have to believe anyone less beloved than Ed Perlmutter would be facing severe blowback over this most uncharacteristic bout of indecision–leaving fellow Democrats who have planned their own career moves around his choices for months in the lurch.

But it is Ed Perlmutter. This is Ed Perlmutter’s seat. And we do expect everyone involved will defer to him.

Whatever happens here needs to happen quickly, so that everyone can move on with their lives.