State Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald has joined a growing list of prominent Colorado Democrats by announcing yesterday that she won’t pursue a run for the governor’s office. The eyes of all political insiders now turn to Speaker Andrew Romanoff.

Both Fitz-Gerald and Romanoff earlier announced their potential candidacies for the state’s top executive offices hinged on the passage of Referenda C and D. Now Fitz-Gerald has bailed out a week before the election. And the generally left-of-center audience of the Dead Governors’ blog is already rationalizing.

Let’s see… the outcry for weeks has been that the Colorado Democrats need a primary opponent for Bill Ritter, especially because of his pro-life views. When asked by the Denver Post after her announcement if she would support Ritter’s candidacy, Fitz-Gerald’s curt response was: “Not exactly.”

Questions to ponder, since all the reasons for the Senate President’s announcement are unclear:
- Would Fitz-Gerald be more likely to avoid the governors’ race if she thought C and D would pass or fail?
- What role does the dispute over whether she can run for re-election for her Senate seat have to play?
- Do you think someone may have advised her that she has a much better chance helping Democrats save the State Senate than winning the Governors’ office?
- If the Holtzman-Beauprez intraparty feud is so deadly to the Republican’s chances to keep the governors’ seat, why can’t the Democrats find a top-of-the-line candidate eager to uphold the pro-choice/abortion views of its base?

Inquiring realists have better answers than rationalizing Democrats.