On Tuesday I shared an update of the state senate rankings and concluded that Republicans still have a good shot at recapturing the majority (at least before the Scott McInnis fiasco unfolded, the effect of which on down-ticket races remains to be seen). It's time to update the state house rankings, and there are a few changes to report. All 65 seats are up for election this fall, but only about 20 to 30 of the seats have a competitive challenger. Most of those seats currently belong to Democrats, and the Republicans -- needing a net gain of six seats to hold a true majority -- are poised to take advantage. Will the GOP win the majority? Possibly. As it stands now, the numbers suggest Republicans will pick up between 5 and 8 seats. … [Read more...]
Survey: What Should Scott McInnis Do?
Update: Upon further deliberation, I've decided to leave the survey open a little longer. Today's Denver Post editorial calls for Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis to drop out of the race due to "revelations of extensive plagiarism in work [he] claimed as his own." While the Post has a quick Yes or No poll on its site to determine whether you agree with their editorial stance, I'm interested in a little more information. This morning I created a quick, 6-question, multiple choice survey to see what politically active and knowledgeable readers think should be done, and how it affects the state of the race. Click here to take the survey I will leave the survey open through tomorrow, Thursday, July 16, at 6 PM Mountain … [Read more...]
State Senate Updates: Lefty Group Enters GOP Primary, Dem Running Insurgent Write-In Campaign?
If I've been less than inspired to write much about the governor's race recently, I'm too downright disgusted to follow it now. I'd rather focus in on a couple items following up on my latest projection of Colorado's state senate races: 1. The top-rated race in the state, southwestern Colorado's Republican primary in Senate District 6, took a strange turn this week. I was taken aback by a Rocky Mountain Right diary reporting that an obviously Left-leaning group known as "Colorado Outlook" is sending out mailers attacking conservative candidate Dean Boehler. The group is listed in the Secretary of State database registered under the name of Julie Wells, the bookkeeper for a large share of the Left-leaning, pro-Democrat, and union-founded … [Read more...]
Colorado Republicans Maintain Good Odds of Winning State Senate Majority
It's been two full months since the last ranking of state senate races. A few candidates have been weeded out, and Colorado's primary election is four weeks away. Republicans need to pull off the feat of winning four seats to regain the majority in the 35-seat upper chamber, which means they have to take 5 of the 6 competitive races (out of 19 total this cycle). But it's certainly not outside the realm of possibility. In fact, based on recent fundraising reports, I feel more strongly about my prediction that there's a better than even chance of a GOP takeover. Without further ado, here are the updated rankings of competitive state senate races, based on the likelihood of switching party control: … [Read more...]
Sara Gagliardi’s Fiscally Conservative Face Lift Can’t Fix Poor Voting Record
My state representative Sara Gagliardi is working overtime to try to project a fiscally conservative image in the upcoming election. The fact that the two-term Democrat has probably the most vulnerable seat in the state legislature in 2010 has more than a little to do with this truth-bending media campaign. In the course of one week, Gagliardi has published two pieces in the local press to trump up her credentials. First, her July 1 column in the Arvada Press touts the representative's co-sponsorship of HB 1119, aka the SMART Government Act, which she describes as providing "an innovative strategy to running our state using an approach called performance budgeting." The problem is the bill isn't really that innovative. The Democratic … [Read more...]
Video: Michael Bennet’s Infamous Card Check Indecision Lingers On…
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 … [Read more...]
Mistakes and Attacks Real, But Not Fatal Cause for Dan Maes Campaign
You rise out of nowhere and make a name for yourself running for the state's highest office, and some (near) certainties will follow: You will make some mistakes that set back your campaign ... or maybe prove its demise; and Others will go out of their way to try to bring you down, too. I'm writing particularly of GOP candidate Dan Maes, whose longshot run for governor of Colorado has all but crashed on the rocks a month before primary election day. Maes would disagree with me vehemently, and I admire his persistence. But the longer his race with front-runner and fellow conservative Scott McInnis drags on, the more voters expect something beyond the "insider" vs. "outsider" paradigm to make up their minds. And we know Maes is way … [Read more...]
Tougher GOP Senate Endorsement: CEA or Andrew Romanoff’s Mom?
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. … [Read more...]
Which Ken Buck-Jane Norton Poll Is Most Trustworthy? I Say Magellan
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 … [Read more...]
Hugh Hewitt Makes Weak Attempt to Bolster Jane Norton’s Poll Showing
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. … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- …
- 155
- Next Page »