Colorado Politics, News and Inside Information

Significant Line Changes

We've updated the Governor and CD-7 Lines, and here's how it looks...

DU President Marc Holtzman is now the Republican favorite. We bumped Holtzman above Congressman Bob Beauprez because while Beauprez gets beat up over his connections with House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, Holtzman just keeps raising money and cruising along around the state. It's still early, and Holtzman and Beauprez will likely flip-flop for the next 14 months, but right now Holtzman has just had a better couple of months than Beauprez -- and nobody is attacking him.

Of course, the big news in the governor's race this week was Democrat Rutt Bridges' "announcement" that he was officially in the race. Bridges' campaign foibles associated with his announcement were a big topic among Democrats on Thursday and Friday, and whether or not you agree that his announcement was a major gaffe, there's no denying that it prevented Bridges from enjoying the positive momentum a candidate should get with an announcement. This should have been his couple of days to stand up and beat his chest as a candidate, and it just didn't work out that way.

Nevertheless, Bridges is the top Democrat by a hair (excluding Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper) but may be in for a fight to hold off Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald from taking that title. Momentum for Fitz-Gerald is growing and may have only increased with Bridges' announcement. There are those, including Party Chair Pat Waak, who are quietly pushing her towards running. Given how well Fitz-Gerald performed in the 2005 legislative session, she's clearly a threat for the nomination without Hickenlooper.

The Denver Mayor, for his part, has apparently decided to watch from the sidelines for awhile to see how the Democratic field performs, but he has not ruled out getting in the race should it appear as though the current field of Democratic candidates aren't looking good. We're not backing off from what we've said from the beginning on Hick; until he says he is definitely not running, he's still the top candidate in either party. And from what we hear, the calls for him to run have been growing in the last week.

QuarterGate

In honor of the revealing of the man behind Deep Throat, we'll name this little spat, QuarterGate.

Governor Bill Owens appeared on the conservative Hugh Hewitt radio show on Thursday and playfully ridiculed Governor Tim Pawlenty for the design of the Minnesota State Quarter. Owens picked the design for the Colorado quarter just this week, and on Thursday, he had this to say about the new money from Minny (full text here):

Governor Pawlenty of Minnesota, tell him his quarter is an example of what not to do on a quarter....You know, his quarter has all this weird stuff. It has canoes, it has lakes, it has the outline of the state. It has like mosquitos, the official bird of Minnesota. It has more stuff on it, and so next time you talk to my good buddy Pawlenty, tell him Owens of Colorado was...

Take THAT Minnesota!

Hat tip to Clay Calhoun for the story.

Weekend Open Thread

Because you can't be outside today.

Friday Open Thread

There's a lot going on today in Colorado politics. Use this thread to discuss whatever you'd like, or go to one of the many links below to get in on a specific discussion:

• Democratic Party Chair Pat Waak isn't the all-inclusive Chair she claimed she would be.
• We take a closer look at why Rutt Bridges' announcement for governor was such a disaster.
• What does Bridges' announcement mean for John Hickenlooper?
• Coming soon: a Q&A with State Senator Doug Lamborn.
• And don't forget! Today is the last day to submit questions for U.S. Senator Wayne Allard, but you have another week to submit questions for Congressman Bob Beauprez.
• We've also got this week's Colorado Political Community Roundup.

Wayne Allard and Bob Beauprez Q&A

Today is the last day to submit questions for the Q&A with U.S. Senator Wayne Allard. Click on this link to ask your question.

We also have an upcoming Q&A with Congressman Bob Beauprez. You can leave questions for that Q&A up until June 14 by clicking here.

Q&A With Doug Lamborn June 17

Republican State Senator Doug Lamborn will participate in a "delayed" Q&A with Colorado Pols to be published on June 17.

We will be accepting questions for Senator Lamborn on this post through June 10.

What About John Hickenlooper?

What does Rutt Bridges’ announcement for governor mean for Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper? Here’s the scoop…

We’ve heard from several sources that Hickenlooper has told Bridges that he will step aside – for now – and wait to see how his campaign progresses. He did not, however, rule out running for governor himself if Bridges’ campaign (which got off to an auspicious start) looks like it is treading water.

Hickenlooper’s view is that of the three top Democrats – Bridges, Bill Ritter, and Joan Fitz-Gerald – Bridges is the only candidate who has the ability to grow and improve as a candidate. But if Bridges doesn’t progress as a candidate, then Hickenlooper may very well step in and run himself. Hick is being strongly encouraged by a number of Democrats to run for governor, and this is apparently where he stands right now.

If Bridges’ first day as a candidate is any indication of his future, we may see Hickenlooper sooner rather than later.

Anatomy of a Big-Time Campaign Blunder

Democrat Rutt Bridges’ disastrous announcement that he is entering the race for governor was all the buzz on Thursday, and the concern among high-level Democrats was everywhere. Meanwhile, Bridges and his campaign staff were frantically working to repair the damage. Here’s what happened, why it is a big deal, and what it means...

Pat Waak: So Much for Being All-Inclusive

Supporters of Democratic Party Chair Pat Waak installed her in office and booted out incumbent Chris Gates in large part because of concern that Gates didn’t give every candidate a fair chance. Their case in point was Mike Miles, whose supporters claimed that Gates supported Ken Salazar in violation of what a party chair should do. Party Chairs, they said, should not pick one Democrat over another candidate. Waak ran on a platform of being all-inclusive toward any Democratic candidate and pulled out a narrow victory over Gates in March.

Now Waak is the Chair, but nothing has changed.

As reported at Colorado Pols in March, Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald supported Waak over Gates for Chair. Now Waak is returning the favor. Waak is strongly encouraging Fitz-Gerald to run for governor and has told her that all Party resources will be dedicated to helping her candidacy.

Meanwhile, Waak is discouraging talk of a John Hickenlooper run for governor by telling all who will listen that he isn’t going to run. She has also privately told others that Rutt Bridges doesn’t have the message to win in November and that Bill Ritter has no chance.

Apparently neutrality just doesn’t mean what it used to mean two months ago.

Thanks to Dan Grossman

Please join us in thanking State Senator Dan Grossman for participating in today's Q&A.

And remember -- the deadline to submit questions for the Q&A with U.S. Senator Wayne Allard is tomorrow afternoon. Submit those questions by clicking here.