President (To Win Colorado)
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(D) Kamala Harris
(R) Donald Trump
80%
20%
CO-01 (Denver)
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(D) Diana DeGette*
(R) V. Archuleta
98%
2%
CO-02 (Boulder-ish)
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(D) Joe Neguse*
(R) Marshall Dawson
95%
5%
CO-03 (West & Southern CO)
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(D) Adam Frisch
(R) Jeff Hurd
50%
50%
CO-04 (Northeast-ish Colorado)
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(R) Lauren Boebert
(D) Trisha Calvarese
90%
10%
CO-05 (Colorado Springs)
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(R) Jeff Crank
(D) River Gassen
80%
20%
CO-06 (Aurora)
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(D) Jason Crow*
(R) John Fabbricatore
90%
10%
CO-07 (Jefferson County)
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(D) B. Pettersen
(R) Sergei Matveyuk
90%
10%
CO-08 (Northern Colo.)
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(D) Yadira Caraveo
(R) Gabe Evans
70%↑
30%
State Senate Majority
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DEMOCRATS
REPUBLICANS
80%
20%
State House Majority
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DEMOCRATS
REPUBLICANS
95%
5%
February 14, 2007 08:15 AM UTC
5 Comments
I suppose in this case, Crank is probably lobbying the CFG and CCC to endorse Rayburn. If they did, it would open up the door to suck a lot of the money out of Lamborn’s pockets and give Crank a clear shot at pounding Lamborn all the way from assembly through election.
Do you suppose that the CFG and CCC would endorse Rayburn though? While on the surface it seems like he could be their poster child, I am not sure he fits the bill to be their candidate. I think of Lamborn as their perfect candidate. He is a spineless puppet who will do whatever the puppeteers tell him. Rayburn, while having some faults by being a former General, would never subjugate himself to the wills of any of the characters running those PACs. Chances are that CCC and CFG know that he will do whatever he feels is right and I dont think either of those groups wants to see a thinker elected.
I wonder if Rayburn will try to lobby Crank to stay out of 08 and go after the low hanging fruit of the 5th. Clearly he would like to be a Senator and perhaps even thinks that Congressman is below him, but that would give him a great platform to launch an uncontested run against Salazar in 2010. Maybe he does not want to wait that long to run against an incumbent popular Senator, but who knows.
Rayburn would kow-tow to Pat Tumor easily enough, for an endorsement, in my opinion. These generals rise a lot on merit, and a lot on kissing the rear ends of the guys ahead of them. Rayburn didn’t rise to chairman of the joint chiefs, but, as far as I’m concernced anyone reaching the rank of general is politically savvy enough on suppressing their wills enough so the guys ahead of them keep promoting them. [Take a guy like Colonel Fawcett, and you’ve got someone that didn’t kiss ass enough to make general, to his credit.]
My opinion is that Rayburn’s being willing to schmooze “The Tumor” for an endorsement is demonstrated by his kissing up to Lamborn. If anyone thinks General Rayburn had any genuine respect for buck private Lamborn, they’ve got another thing coming. I for one don’t believe it. But, Lamborn IS the key to Rayburn’s entree to “The Tumor” and the Sleeze Brothers. If Rayburn would ingratiate himself to someone like Lamborn, I maintain he’s learned enough to do the same for endorsements to beat McInnis. The lure of being a U.S. Senator is far more appealing than being a Congressman.
As far as Rayburn asking Crank to step back, that would indeed be cheeky!
Rayburn, as a carpet bagger, had as much to do with Lamborn’s winning as anyone else. Rayburn didn’t bleed votes from Lamborn but from Crank.
No. If Rayburn doesn’t run for Senate in 2008 and he wants to have a political future that springs from the Republican power base in El Paso County, he’ll have to stand down for a run in the 5th CD. Assuming he doesn’t run for Senate, the smart thing he should do is go to Crank and advise Crank he’s going to throw his support to Crank. Lamborn is NOT in control in the 5th CD and the smart money recognizes that. The Sleeze Brothers are out there raising money, no doubt, but, after 2008, if they want a job in 5th CD politics, they’ll have a better chance of getting hired on at the Olympic Training Center with someone like Tanya Harding’s crew–you know, the ones that took a lead pipe to Kerrigan’s knee in 1994.
The *only* thing that the 5th congressional district primary teaches us is that our electoral system is crap when there are five candidates. It rewards gamesmanship and chance. If anyone needs an explanation for Rayburn’s third-place finish, it’s easy: Lamborn and Crank were anointed as, respectively, the “far right” and “moderate” candidates; when Lamborn made an ass of himself, some of the far-right voters went looking for option 2, and they found Rayburn. This doesn’t mean that Rayburn was the third most desired candidate; it means that this scenario happened, and it’s one that’s not likely to repeat.
I don’t see Rayburn as too awfully serious a threat to anyone.
The real race for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate is the race for whoever can get the Club for Grime’s endorsement–and money. Schaffer has taken himself out of that race. I personally think Rayburn is in it. We’ll see how it all plays out.
So, yes, I also agree that Rayburn’s not a threat–if he’s without the CFG’s endorsement–to win anything on his own, but with the backing of The Tumor and the Sleeze Brothers, a serious threat. He needs the Tumor more than the Sleeze Brothers. The Sleeze Brothers can’t raise the coins like the Club for Grime can.
Well I won’t say all the reasons you are wrong on your entire scenario. But you have to remember that Scott already has a million in the bank, CFG is good for what maybe $600k at best. That’s assuming they get involved. Let’s say they do get involved, and are able to somehow get Bentley to a million, what then? How does Bentley raise money after that? Whom does he get endorsements from?