May 23, 2006 08:00 AM UTC

Lamm the New Favorite in CD-7 Primary

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• by: Colorado Pols

You may have noticed that we moved Democrat Peggy Lamm above Ed Perlmutter on the CD-7 Line (the Big Line is usually updated on Sundays), and there’s a good reason why. We’ve had Perlmutter ahead of Lamm for virtually the entire existence of the CD-7 Line, but it’s hard to ignore the bad signs for Perlmutter anymore.

First, here’s what The Hill had to say about the CD-7?race:

Former state Rep. Peggy Lamm, who is running for the seat Rep. Bob Beauprez (R-Colo.) is vacating to run for governor, is predicting she will submit nearly 3,000 signatures to election officials this week to get on the Democratic primary ballot. Only 1,000 signatures are required, but as Charlie Wilson, a Democratic candidate in Ohio, discovered earlier this year, it?s better to be safe than sorry…

…Lamm is considered the front-runner in the Democratic primary. A Ridder/Bradden Inc. poll in February showed her having the highest name identification and favorability rating in the Democratic field. And a survey conducted by Lake Snell Perry Mermin/Decision Research showed Lamm leading Perlmutter.

We hear that not only is Lamm polling ahead of Perlmutter, but she’s been telling supporters that?- are you ready for this? – Herb Rubenstein is polling?in second place.?Of course, there’s still a long way to go in this race, but if Perlmutter is really polling in third place, he’s in trouble.

For his part, Perlmutter recently polled to see if people who were identifying themselves as Lamm supporters were confusing her with former sister-in-law Dottie Lamm. Perlmutter’s camp believes, with good reason, that Lamm’s name ID is largely unconnected to her first name; but even if that is true, name ID is still name ID.

Lamm has also reportedly hired one of the top direct mail firms in the business – Malchow/Schlackman – whose wickedly effective attack mail was credited in large part with Gov. Janet Napolitano’s victory in Arizona in 2002.

Not all is lost for Perlmutter, however, because he still has more money than Lamm and should be able to maintain that fundraising lead through the primary. But it looks like Perlmutter will need every last dollar to put himself in position to win in August.

Jefferson County Commissioner Kevin McCasky