November 07, 2016 09:51 AM UTC

Get More Smarter on Monday (November 7)

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• by: Colorado Pols

You’re not early today; you just forgot to set your clock back for the end of Daylight Savings. It’s time to Get More Smarter with Colorado Pols. If you think we missed something important, please include the link in the comments below (here’s a good example). If you are more of a visual learner, check out The Get More Smarter Show.

TOP OF MIND TODAY…

► DO NOT MAIL YOUR BALLOT! If you still have a ballot sitting on your kitchen table or buried in your briefcase, dust that sucker off and drop it off at a ballot collection site in your county; ballots must be received by your county clerk by 7:00 pm on Tuesday, so you don’t have time to mail it anymore. Check JustVoteColorado.org for more information on where to take your ballot or to find your nearest polling location. If you haven’t submitted your ballot or just can’t find it, you can still vote in person.

► It took nearly the entire early ballot period, but Republicans finally caught up to Democrats in early voting returns. Historically-speaking, Republicans in Colorado have always held early voting leads while more Democrats traditionally hold their ballots to vote on Election Day. Longtime Colorado political reporter Ernest Luning puts the returns in perspective:

In 2012, GOP ahead by 34,371 in CO statewide ballot returns 1 day out: D-590,417 (34.9%); R-624,788 (36.9%); U-474,437 (28.1%) #copolitics https://t.co/hfLD6hHthN

— Ernest Lee Luning (@eluning) November 7, 2016

As you can see, Republicans now have a 7,000-vote lead over Democrats in early voting, which is a far cry from the 35,000-vote lead they held at this point in 2012.

► Democrat Hillary Clinton his putting the final touches on her Presidential campaign as the FBI makes another weird announcement. From Politico:

Pressing to lock in her electoral advantage in the final hours of the 2016 campaign, Hillary Clinton will summon the collective firepower of the last two Democratic presidents on Monday while Donald Trump scrambles furiously across state lines in a last-ditch bid to scale the blue wall of support she has built.

In a shock announcement only 40 hours before the first polls were set to open, Trump was robbed of his favorite rhetorical cudgel on Sunday. FBI Director James Comey told Congress he had concluded his review into new Clinton-related emails only nine days after he shook up the race by announcing there was a review underway at all.

The news of his probe — and the subsequent ricocheting jumble of the words “FBI,” “email,” and “Clinton” on television and news sites — had allowed Trump to claw back into the presidential race, lifting him from his polling doldrums in late October. His campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, tried to brush aside Comey’s announcement as insignificant…

…But after the FBI reaffirmed its conclusions from July — when Comey said “no reasonable prosecutor” would bring a case against Clinton — Trump returned to railing against the “rigged system.”

The latest polls in Colorado show Clinton with a relatively-comfortable lead over Trump with a few days left before Election Day. As “The Fix” notes today, Clinton appears to have a clear path to winning the Presidency.

► Democrats appear likely to defeat Republican Sen. Richard Burr in North Carolina, which means they are in prime position to take back control of the U.S. Senate. As the Washington Post reports, political insiders on both sides of the aisle seem to be making the same predictions:

Every person I talked with presupposes that Hillary Clinton will win the presidency, even though the race has tightened. That means Democrats need to pick up four seats because Vice President Tim Kaine would be the tie breaking vote.

Both sides are girding themselves for what they expect will be a very late night, but the conventional wisdom is that it is more likely than not that Democrats net at least four. Reflecting the high stakes, a study out this weekend showed that more than $532 million has now been spent by outside groups on Senate ads in the general election.

Get even more smarter after the jump…

IN CASE YOU ARE STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…

► Former Vice President Al Gore will stump for Hillary Clinton in Colorado today, with early-evening stops in Boulder and Jefferson County.

► Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders was in Colorado over the weekend campaigning on behalf of Clinton and CD-6 Democrat Morgan Carroll. From the Aurora Sentinel:

Sanders touted Carroll and Clinton for being politicians who did not advocate for trickle-down economics. He said Carroll and Clinton support union workers, raising the minimum wage, and equal pay for equal work. 

He emphasized his party’s commitment to reducing student debt.

Elsewhere, the Colorado Independent previews the “home stretch” in the race for CD-6 between Carroll and Republican Rep. Mike Coffman.

► First Lady Michelle Obama appears in a new ad on behalf of Democrat Morgan Carroll in CD-6. President Obama appeared in a pro-Carroll ad last week.

► Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump made his final pre-election visit to Colorado in a late-night event at the Denver Western Stock Show complex on Saturday evening. Trump was scheduled to take the stage at 9:30 pm, but didn’t actually start speaking until 10:30. 

► Republican polling outfit Magellan Strategies says that Amendment 71 (“Raise the Bar”) has opened up a narrow lead, while Amendment 70 (minimum wage increase) appears to be heading for a victory on Tuesday.

► Eagle County Clerk and Recorder Teak Simonton is raising alarms about potential obstruction at polls from Republican activists. From RealVail.com:

Simonton sent a strongly worded email to the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office over the weekend accusing Republican poll-watchers of obstructing voters and making Eagle County staff, election judges and voters “uncomfortable” by “stepping over the line” on Saturday in Eagle.

“I will be in Eagle on Monday and Tuesday [at the Eagle County Voter Service and Polling Center] and will not tolerate any BS or obstruction to voter rights or reasonable processes,” wrote Simonton, a Democrat who’s running for country treasurer.

“We are 100% ready and willing to let [poll-watchers] see and understand all of our processes, but if they in any way intimidate our voters, use tactics that make voters question our integrity with no basis, communicate with our judges directly or obstruct the process in any non-productive manner I’ll have them escorted from the building by security and inform the party leaders afterwards,” added Simonton.

Simonton’s allegations of voter obstruction come just as voters are headed to the polls Nov. 8 to decide one of the most heated and ugly presidential races in modern American history, with Republican candidate Donald Trump calling the election rigged and urging vigilance to combat voter fraud he says will be rampant but has been largely discredited by clerks across the nation.

► Win or lose, Colorado Republicans have a Laura Woods problem. 

► Republican Rep. Kit Roupe tries making a strange argument about something she claims she didn’t do — despite obvious proof to the contrary.

► Elbert County Commissioner Robert Rowland says he is leaving the Republican Party and expects many more disgruntled elephants to follow in the wake of Tuesday’s election.

► Amendment 72 wins the booby prize for being the most expensive ballot measure in Colorado. Thanks, Big Tobacco!

► The Denver Post breaks down the top races to watch in Colorado with help from “25 top political observers” around the state. We found this note at the end of the story to be particularly interesting:

In the survey of top politicos, the U.S. Senate race ranked last on the list. Once a high-profile national race, Republican rival Darryl Glenn has failed to mount a serious challenge against Democrat Michael Bennet, who is his party’s most vulnerable incumbent.

► Who are the Colorado voters that wait until Election Day to vote? The Denver Post tries to figure it out. 

OTHER LINKS YOU SHOULD CLICK

► Public calls to restrict drilling in Western Colorado continue to rise.

► Washington Post reporter Jenna Johnson, who has covered Donald Trump extensively over the last 12-16 months, takes a look back at some of the more impactful moments she encountered on the Trump beat.

ICYMI

► The Denver Broncos are 6-3 after losing to the Oakland Raiders on Sunday night.

Don’t forget to check out The Get More Smarter Show. You can also Get More Smarter by liking Colorado Pols on Facebook!