(D) J. Hickenlooper*
(D) Julie Gonzales
(R) Janak Joshi
80%
20%
10%
(D) Jena Griswold
(D) M. Dougherty
(D) Hetal Doshi
40%↓
30%
30%
(D) Jeff Bridges
(R) Kevin Grantham
80%↑
20%↓
(D) Diana DeGette*
(D) Milat Kiros
(D) Wanda James
70%↓
20%↑
10%↓
(D) Joe Neguse*
(R) Somebody
90%
2%
(R) Jeff Hurd*
(D) Alex Kelloff
(R) H. Scheppelman
60%↓
30%↓
20%↑
(R) Lauren Boebert*
(D) E. Laubacher
(D) Trisha Calvarese
90%
30%↑
20%
(R) Jeff Crank*
(D) Jessica Killin
53%↓
48%↑
(D) Jason Crow*
(R) Somebody
90%
2%
(D) B. Pettersen*
(R) Somebody
90%
2%
(R) Gabe Evans*
(D) Shannon Bird
(D) Manny Rutinel
45%↓
30%
30%
DEMOCRATS
REPUBLICANS
80%
20%
DEMOCRATS
REPUBLICANS
95%
5%
Various media outlets have already reported on the circus that would begin in Denver should Mayor John Hickenlooper get the appointment to fill Senator Ken Salazar’s seat. Less discussed, except for a few diaries here and on Jeffco Pols, is what would happen should Congressman Ed Perlmutter get the nod instead. Perlmutter has helped turn […]
Check out Jeff Bridges’ rundown of potential CD-7 Democrats posted over at Colorado Pols:
Jefferson County-Based Candidates
Renny Fagan
Fagan has made his interest known, and while he could make a strong candidate in a general election it’s hard to say how well he would do with the central committee Democrats. Fagan is a former state legislator, deputy Attorney General, and currently serves as Sen. Salazar’s Colorado State Director.Andy Kerr
Kerr has been a fast-rising State Rep. from Lakewood, currently serving as the House Majority Whip. He is actively making his interest known as well, and could emerge as an opposite version of Fagan – his resume isn’t as strong, but he’s probably more well-known to the Democratic insiders who would choose the candidate. Of the Jefferson County candidates, Fagan and Kerr have been the most aggressive thus far.Jason Bane
Bane almost pulled off a major upset over a well-known Republican in a race for Jefferson County Commissioner, winning more votes than any previous Democrat. He raised a record amount of money (more than $80,000) for a lower-tier race, and post-election results show Bane won the CD-7 part of JeffCo handily. This gives him something no other candidate mentioned here could use: Bane can say exactly how well he would do in the Jefferson County portion of CD-7. Bane has not actively sought support for a potential run, but his name has come up a number of times and he could be the sleeper in this race. (Full disclosure, he’s a good personal friend – which means I’m even more acutely aware of his political talent.)Jim Polsfut
Polsfut briefly threw his hat in the ring for CD-7 back in 2006 before bowing out to support Perlmutter. Polsfut once ran for State Treasurer as well, and has a proven talent at fundraising. He’s also close with Gov. Bill Ritter.Dave Thomas
He’s tried several times to win this seat, and isn’t likely to give it one more shot.Sue Windels
Has a good base, but passed on CD-7 before and is coming off a tough loss in 2008. I haven’t heard that she would run.Cheri Jahn
The term-limited State Rep. has her eyes on SD-20 in 2010, but might throw her name in the mix. She hasn’t made any noise about it, however.Moe Keller
Keller is term-limited from her Senate seat in 2010, but this is really bad timing. She is the new chair of the Joint Budget Committee and would have to resign that post in order to run (see Morgan Carroll below). It’s doubtful she’d do that.
Then-Rep. Bob Schaffer parasails off the Northern Mariana Islands Photo credit: CSU Library Democrats and their allies went into 2008 with a thick notebook of opposition research against GOP Senate candidate Bob Schaffer. One of the chief sources of this wealth of damaging information was Schaffer’s own congressional archives, donated to the CSU Library after […]
(Will they use their brains or go with the whackjob? – promoted by Colorado Pols) The Coloradoan reports that State Sen. Steve Johnson has submitted his resignation, and he’s soon to take his seat as a Larimer County Commissioner. A thrilling vacancy committee bloodletting is sure to come! State Sen. Steve Johnson has formally submitted […]
One of this year’s most interesting success stories, Rep.-elect Jared Polis’ long road to glory, not to mention history as the first openly gay man elected to Congress…started out a little bumpy. Most people agree that his early primary campaign was a calamitous affair, with Polis showing commitment in the form of large personal checks […]
“The transition from cause to effect, from event to event, is often carried on by secret steps, which our foresight cannot divine, and our sagacity is unable to trace. Evil may at some future period bring forth good; and good may bring forth evil, both equally unexpected.” –Joseph Addison
Several of the top Colorado political stories this year feature the Senate race between Mark Udall and Bob Beauprez Schaffer. Certainly the most amusing one began here after a rather striking problem was discovered in a new Schaffer TV spot by our diligent readers, as reported in May by the Rocky Mountain News: They say […]
It’s important to understand the larger ramifications of this year’s defeat of the dubiously-named “Colorado Civil Rights Initiative” Amendment 46. Amendment 46, an affirmative action ban fronted in Colorado by the usual Independence Institute wingnut suspects, was actually part of a national campaign headed by California political operative Ward Connerly–who attempted to get the measure […]
We can think of no better way to kick off our recap of historic 2008 in Colorado politics than to revisit a man who has been so very good to us in terms of furnishing entertaining subject matter for blog posts, Ali Hasan. As Westword reported last January: Ali and Miller held hands as they […]
Ok, I know as little about the U.S. car companies as most – ie most of the models they make are not worth considering – but that’s it. Who’s responsible for their disaster, can the present management & workers fix it, etc – no idea. We are now hearing talk about some of the airlines […]
Like we’ve said for weeks now, Rep.-elect Betsy Markey’s blowout defeat of Marilyn Musgrave was just the first round, with the real test coming in 2010 as she tries to avoid becoming a one-term wonder and the GOP vigorously tries to render her exactly that. The Fort Collins Coloradoan’s Bob Moore reported on Christmas Day: […]
If Hickenlooper is choosen by Ritter to fill the Senate seat, who will you support in the Bannock Street sprint? There are a lot of possibilities out there and even more not mentioned here below. The way it works: If Hickenlooper were to resign, Deputy Mayor Bill Vidal would take over temporarily. A special election […]
( – promoted by Colorado Pols) Racism denigrates those of us that are white as well as those that are not. Sexism denigrates us men as well as women. Homophobia denigrates those of us that are straight as well as those who are gay. When we treat others unfairly because of some of their characteristics, […]
As the Pueblo Chieftain reports: When candidates run for Pueblo City Council, their political party isn’t supposed to be a part of the equation. Pueblo County Democrats are making plans – at least in a limited way – to change that. Pueblo County Democratic Chairman Terry Hart said his party plans to step up recruitment […]
I suppose it’s feast or famine here on Pols for my friend and President of the Children’s Museum of Denver Tom Downey. Earlier today we reported that former US Senate candidate Buddy Moore tried to run over Downey in a parking dispute prior to Barack Obama’s acceptance speech last August. Apparently determined to make it […]
One of the key issues surrounding the selection of our next U.S. Senator is whether he or she can garner the broad based statewide support needed to win the next election. Andrew Romanoff has shown in just a few short days that he already has that kind of support. He has also shown that he […]
Ok, everyone else is making their endorsement. And we all know that the most powerful endorsement of all is the “my lunch with…” endorsement. So here’s mine. John Salazar – can’t do it. He was just given a seat on appropiations and if he walks away from that he hurts everyone who fought to get […]
The Denver Post makes the hometown favorite’s case: Gov. Bill Ritter doesn’t even need one of his legendary blue-ribbon panels to help with this decision. The choice is clear. Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper should be Colorado’s next senator. With Sen. Ken Salazar expected to win confirmation as Interior secretary, Ritter must select someone to fill […]
Forget the Senate appointment – Ritter will pick someone very good and we then get back to the difficult job facing us all – what to do about the economy. What should the governor be focusing on? I wrote a post about the priorities facing the state. But I think what he should do comes […]
Let’s do a little exercise. Pretend you are Governor Ritter, and you need to fill Ken Salazar’s seat. Here’s the catch: It has to be filled with someone that hasn’t held political office since 2004, or ever. Who in the community would be a good candidate, political experience notwithstanding? I’ll get things started off. […]
As the Denver Post reports: Colorado’s four public research universities have been asked by a member of the state legislature’s budget writing committee how they would survive if they received no dollars from the state legislature. The specter of privatization has presidents at the University of Colorado, Colorado State University, the Colorado School of Mines […]
Good ol’ Troy Eid is back in the news, saying he’s definitely, really, seriously going to run for some sort of political office. He’s like the Republican Bernie Buescher, though much less-respected. U.S. Attorney for Colorado Troy Eid said he plans to run for office, although he hasn’t decided which one, while Attorney General John […]
Not so much a diary here, but a table for discussion about the future of the economy and what we as individuals in our different lives should be doing. So, here are a few topics to kick things off: 1. How much more will home prices slide and how low? Keep in mind some places […]
A few days ago, Colorado House Minority Leader Mike May announced his retirement from the legislature, citing declining business at his day job. A few days later, Rep. May angrily announced that he was postponing his retirement, complaining of “outside influences [that] may have attempted to interfere with” the election of his successor. This morning, […]
We’ve updated The Big Line to reflect the Senate appointments. Our logic is after the jump, but everything revolves around one major point: Who is the best running mate for Ritter in 2010? He needs a strong top of the ticket to help him get re-elected, and that will play large in any decision. Ed […]
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