The Ken Buck for U.S. Senate campaign has released a new poll conducted by Magellan Strategies that shows little has changed in his race since June. The top line result indicates voter preference for Buck over Jane Norton by the margin of 46-37.

Last month Buck led Norton 42-32. As expected, the share of undecided GOP primary voters has shrunk over the past six weeks. Interestingly, the Weld County DA has a 20-plus point lead among voters ages 18 to 44, but his edge is in single digits among older voters.

The only other change of note is a slightly better move in favorable ratings for Jane Norton. In June, the former lieutenant governor had a 37 favorable / 31 unfavorable rating. In the new poll her respective ratings are 45 / 34. Norton has gone from a +6 to a +11 in favorability, a small positive bump. Buck still has the true advantage in image among voters at 52 / 23 (up from 39 / 13). (more…)

From National Review Online today:

Carole Jean Badertscher was a California nurse who just wanted to go to work and take care of her patients — but the SEIU was determined not to let that happen. The union’s contract with Badertscher’s employer, the Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, had expired, and the union had called a strike in response. Badertscher and other nurses, unwilling to abandon their patients for the sake of a stronger SEIU hand in contract negotiations, resigned from the union and went to work. In turn, she was threatened by the union bosses, who promised to have her prosecuted under California’s antique professional-strikebreaker statute, which was long ago pre-empted by federal law. Badertscher and other nurses were told that they would be fined and could be thrown in jail for months.

But there was more at stake in the case for the SEIU than the right to bully nurses in the Pomona Valley. The SEIU local had also informed hospital employees that they were legally required to keep paying union dues…. (more…)

Next weekend is the annual Right Online conference, sponsored by the Americans for Prosperity Foundation. Specifically, it will be held Friday and Saturday, July 23-24, in Las Vegas. This is a great opportunity for conservatives who want to learn how they can help neutralize the advantage the Left has accrued in new media and online tools.

A lineup of great speakers is on tap — including members of Congress Mike Pence and Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, John Fund, Judge Andrew Napolitano, and more. Registration is still open.

I’m not able to make the trip (family reasons), which depending on your perspective might be all the more reason to go. But definitely give it a close look and find a great excuse to make a summertime visit to Vegas and learn how to make a difference at the same time.

Joshua has a great rundown of this past weekend’s Western Conservative Summit. I was there for most of the day on Saturday, but unfortunately not able to catch the festivities of Friday evening or Sunday morning. Judging especially by the descriptions of the Michelle Bachmann and Arthur Brooks presentations, I regret missing them most of all.

The personal highlight for the lovely Mrs. Virtus and I was the opportunity to hear Dennis Prager’s enlightening and insightful address. He brings a lot of well-stated wisdom to the table, along with a genuine self-deprecating humor that endears him to the crowd. Even having heard his American Trinity discussed before, the speech never lost my attention. It was an excellent evening.

A very special thank-you goes out to John Andrews of the Centennial Institute for including the Rocky Mountain Alliance as an event co-sponsor and for inviting our participation. I didn’t expect to be summoned onto the stage before the Prager speech — along with the new media crew of Joshua, El Presidente, Kelly Maher (her site recently had a makeover) and Amanda Teresi — but the additional blog exposure is always appreciated. And it added to the evening’s enjoyment. (more…)

My good friend Amanda from Liberty on the Rocks is at it again, this time asking our appointed U.S. Senator Michael Bennet where he stands on the union card check issue:

Michael Bennet has been stuck in indecision on the union card check issue almost since the day he was appointed to office a year and a half ago. Maybe the junior senator figured he doesn’t have to answer the question because he cast a backdoor vote for card check via the Craig Becker nomination back in February — but still losing some Big Labor backing to his primary rival Andrew Romanoff.

At least by that time next year we have good reason to hope Bennet won’t have to worry any more about constituents pestering him for his opinion on such issues. Leaving behind public office for private life has a way of adding to one’s solitude.

Ben DeGrow is a Contributing Author at People’s Press Collective, Your Source for Colorado Politics.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that the Colorado Education Association (CEA) — the state’s largest teachers union — is not exactly likely to endorse a Republican candidate in a statewide election. Last week the union sent out an email to its members that began:

About 20 Association members, representing 40,000 fellow members, recently interviewed candidates for Colorado’s U.S. Senate seat. These members decided that CEA should wait until the August 10 Primary Election to recommend a U.S. Senate candidate to our members.

The process these members used was to invite all the declared candidates in both major political parties to complete written questionnaires about public education issues and appear for personal interviews. The interview team invited Sen. Michael Bennet (D), the incumbent; Andrew Romanoff (D); Ken Buck (R); and Jane Norton (R). Bennet and Romanoff participated fully in our questionnaire-interview process, but the Republican candidates declined to do so.

Guided by this process, the interview team declared that both Democratic candidates are strong supporters of public education and our Association’s positions on education issues – and that our Association will wait until August 10 and then recommend the candidate who wins the Democratic Primary.

I contacted the Jane Norton campaign to see what they had heard from the CEA and what their response was. They didn’t remember receiving a questionnaire, but said they “were asked to attend a PAC interview.” The only reason I decided to write this up was the colorfully crafted response of Norton spokesman Josh Penry: (more…)

The Rocky Mountain Alliance of Blogs (of which I am a member) and People’s Press Collective (to which I am a contributor) — not to mention the Independence Institute where I work — are all among many co-sponsors of the upcoming First Annual Western Conservative Summit on July 9 to 11 in the south metro Denver area.

Put this one on your calendars. There is a fantastic and diverse collection of speakers slated to come, including: (more…)

I’m not the only one who has noticed the apparent desperation from the Jane Norton campaign. Fellow RMA and PPC blogger Don Johnson, frequently criticized for showing favoritism to the former lieutenant governor, now says that a Norton victory would make her “the miracle candidate of the year.” Among other things, Johnson describes a newly released Norton campaign poll, conducted by Public Opinion Strategies (POS), showing their candidate with a 39-33 lead as “unbelievable.”

On Tuesday afternoon, upon invitation from the Norton campaign, I joined their press teleconference to discuss the results of this poll — which contradicts recent polls from Magellan and SurveyUSA showing Buck with double-digit leads. (While Nate Silver’s numbers rank SurveyUSA as the third most accurate political polling firm out of 63, POS rates 60th. The in-state firm Magellan was not included.)

As articulated by Norton campaign spokesman Josh Penry, the POS poll assumes greater participation in the August primary because of high Republican voter intensity and a mail-in ballot election. Simply put, Norton’s numbers indicate the broader the electorate, the greater share of votes she gets. (more…)

Yesterday I actually found myself in a mood to give national radio host Hugh Hewitt a chance to not embarrass himself in talking about Colorado politics. After all, with a great interview early in the show, Hewitt finally acknowledged the existence of rising star and Colorado Congressional candidate Ryan Frazier. (I haven’t listened much lately: has Hugh Hewitt finally noticed Cory Gardner, too?)

But toward the end of the program Hewitt started following the Jane Norton campaign’s lead and bashing the SurveyUSA poll that put Ken Buck ahead of Jane Norton, 53-37. The host asserted in all-too-typical bombastic fashion that the polling sample of 59 percent men vs. 41 percent women wildly skewed the results in Buck’s favor. (more…)

Colorado’s big political buzz since Sunday has revolved around the Denver Post / 9News / SurveyUSA polling on the gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races. The governor matchups pretty much reflect Rasmussen’s recently released results, but the latest poll also puts Scott McInnis at a 2-to-1 advantage over fellow Republican Dan Maes in head-to-head support for the primary.

On this point PPC blogger PerlStalker is correct about Maes’ chances:

That’s a lot of ground to make up before the August primary. I doubt that he can do it with so little time left.

Don Johnson and others have been highlighting the most newsworthy result: Ken Buck’s 53-37 advantage over Jane Norton in the Republican showdown for the U.S. Senate contest. The response from the Norton camp at the changing fortunes? Josh Penry attacked the messenger in an email memo to supporters:

It’s safe to say that Howard Dean was more than a little surprised after being trounced in the 2004 Iowa Caucuses by eventual Democratic nominee John Kerry. You’ll recall that was the night that Dean had a now-legendary meltdown on primetime national TV.

(more…)

I was privileged Thursday with the opportunity to conduct a one-on-one phone interview with Congressman Mike Coffman, Republican from Colorado’s 6th CD.

As co-founder of the Balanced Budget Caucus on Capitol Hill, it’s not surprising that Coffman is heavily focused on the importance of this issue. “You have to take the power away from Congress,” he told me. “It certainly has worked in some states.”

Coffman continued that he is “amazed how much overhead there is in the federal bureaucracy. The majority of what we do here has nothing to do with our constitutional responsibilities. It seems like the federal government is involved in every level of government.” He believes the Balanced Budget Amendment will “force Congress to deal with its constitutional responsibilities.”

I agree with the Congressman that this Amendment is an important next step for Congress to take if there is to be any hope for fiscal discipline from Washington, D.C. The Amendment is an important piece, but it certainly isn’t the endgame.

Coffman has heard the objections that a Balanced Budget Amendment would open the door for some interest groups and politicians to demand higher taxes rather than cut wasteful spending and reduce the size and scope of the federal government. He says it’s worth the risk and that “it’s better to make the tough choices now,” especially given the unprecedented tide of popular sentiment for cutting spending and reducing debt. (more…)

The Denver Post editorial board is on track today with a piece calling on Colorado’s sell-out U.S. Senators to come out and oppose a terrible piece of special interest payback legislation known as the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act:

Insiders say Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid, who is championing the measure, has as many as 62 votes. That tally includes Udall and Bennet.

(more…)

A connection of the state of nativity with my state of residence — the state where I cut my teeth on politics with the teeth the state where I’ve come more involved in politics than I ever imagined. Conservative leader Bob Schaffer, former Congressman and current chairman of the Colorado State Board of Education, publicly announced his endorsement in the Republican primary for Michigan’s gubernatorial race in an email sent today to supporters:

Please join me in supporting U. S. Congressman Pete Hoekstra in his campaign to become Governor of Michigan.

With all the attention being paid to campaigns here in Colorado, you’re surely wondering why I’d ask you to join Maureen and me by supporting a candidate in Michigan. The answer is pretty straightforward:

Pete Hoekstra is one of the finest leaders I’ve ever known. (more…)

Don Johnson recently highlighted the latest Rasmussen poll showing potential head-to-head matchups among the four major candidates for Colorado’s U.S. Senate seat.

But of course, the four different possible matchups of Democrat vs. Republican will be determined by voters in their respective parties by August 10. As the two GOP candidates Ken Buck and Jane Norton vie to make their respective cases for electability as one factor among many to woo primary voters, it’s also of great value to see how the two are faring against each other.

A newly-released Magellan Strategies poll may be some of the best news Ken Buck has garnered yet. Among a representative sample of 1,026 likely Republican primary voters surveyed statewide, Buck holds a 42-32 advantage over Norton. Perhaps even more interesting are some of the breakdowns within the poll:

• Favorability ratings for Norton: 37.4 favorable / 31.3 unfavorable / 23.7 no opinion = 92.3% Name ID
• Favorability ratings for Buck: 39.1 favorable / 13.3 unfavorable / 32.2 no opinion = 84.6% Name ID
• Among the 860 “extremely likely” to vote, Buck leads Norton 43-32; among the remaining 166 not as likely to vote, Buck only leads Norton 34-28
• 35 percent of votes for Norton are “definitely” voting for her as opposed to 65 percent who said “probably”
• 42.5 percent of votes for Buck are “definitely” voting for him as opposed to 57.5 percent who said “probably”
• Among male voters, Buck leads Norton 45-32; among female voters, Buck leads Norton 39-32
• Buck shows strongest among voters in northern Colorado, the eastern Plains, and the 6th Congressional in the south/west Denver suburbs, while Norton fares best on the Western Slope, southern Colorado and Denver proper

Given the significant amount of voters “probably” supporting their respective candidates and a quarter of those polled expressing indecision, making more than two-thirds of the electorate at least somewhat open to be swayed, it’s fair to say the race is still very much up for grabs.

But if Ken Buck can continue his momentum by reporting a significant increase in fundraising through the end of this month, all signs will show him as the come-from-behind prohibitive favorite for the last month of the primary campaign.

Ben DeGrow is a Contributing Author at People’s Press Collective, Your Source for Colorado Politics

If I were to pick candidates to support in this year’s primary based on the ill behavior of political allies, I wouldn’t be able to back Jane Norton or Ken Buck to be Colorado’s next U.S. Senator.

First, it was the over-the-top attacks from Norton lieutenant Josh Penry (whom I had enthusiastically decided to endorse during his brief, abortive run for governor) against Buck.

Then yesterday I nearly fell out of my chair when I read this bizarre hit piece by Red State’s Erick Erickson on Jane Norton. Until today, most of Buck-backer Erickson’s jabs at Norton have been at least somewhat reasonable. Then he highlighted this passage from an AP story: (more…)