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 21, 2008 10:41 PM UTC
35 Comments
No.
Wadhams’ resume includes Conrad Burns, George Allen, Allard, John Thune, and a close relationship with Rove that goes way back to their College Republican days together.. His policy is scorched earth. His strategy is simple: deflect all attention from his “client” and on to the negatives of his opponent, real or fabricated. This guy is good at what he does and for that reason what should be a blowout win for Udall will be much closer. Wadhams has taken even weaker candidates than Schaffer (Thune for example) and won with them. Udall better get ready. This will now be about “the politics of personal destruction”. Wadhams is the master of it.
They’re both sitting back collecting money. Whichever one starts hitting the other first is going to have an advantage.
It could be said the Dick Wadhams single-handedly lost the U.S. Senate for Republicans. His complete and utter mismanagement of the Allen campaign (particularly surrounding his media-buying strategies and campaign budget burn rate) cost him his prominent role in that race and essentially forced him to come back to Colorado with his tail between his legs. His name is mud amongst Neocons inside the Beltway. He had no choice and was forced to accept a lesser-role as Colorado’s Republican Party Chair or, remain unemployable in Washington, DC.
I say, let Wadhams have as large a strategic role in this Senate race as he wants. I have no problem with it. If he runs Schaffer’s race like he ran Allen’s, then Udall and the Colorado Democratic Party have absolutely nothing to worry about.
Your ignorance is appalling. Let’s make one things clear… you may not like a guy on the other side who plays rough, but it makes him no less effective regardless of the bull you spout.
ONE guy lost that race and it was George Allen. Wadhams is brilliant and this is Udall’s worse nightmare.
If he runs Schaffer’s race like Allen’s and Thune’s and a host of others… Udall is going to get beat.
Of course it’s not Allen’s fault! Allen was a complete trainwreck and it was all Wadhams could do from preventing this guy from imploding six months before election day…
Bullshit!
Wadhams was ultimately at the helm and should accept full responsibility for his utter incompetence. That race was Allen’s to lose, and guess what? He got his ass handed to him and blew through a boatload of money in the process. That is ALL Wadhams, my friend.
I agree, Wadhams is brilliant (in his own mind) and ultimately, his political vanity will be his downfall. Go ahead and bookmark this post now. Wadhams will have his ass handed to him on a platter this next election cycle and will be lucky to find work gathering petitions at the nearest Front Range grocery store for the CO GOP and one of their idiotic ballot initiatives in 2010.
…Wad Dickums is not the golden boy you think. He has lost races, and the ones he’s piloted that won were in heavily Republican advantaged states.
I think Udall and his team are certainly ready for him.
BTW, is Waddy going to stay on as Republican chairman but give some money back? Or, is he taking the Doug Bruce way of increasing income?
….is a primary challenge from John Hickenlooper followed by a general election with a Republican opponent of stature like Hank Brown.
Wadhams and Shifty Schaffer will be nasty pests but I wouldn’t elevate them to nightmare league.
He is an expert at handling the press for his client and will run hard and fast around Udall.
The Udall campaign better get ready because money alone won’t win the race.
The $10k question is what about the State GOP? It’s no secret that they are low on funds and missing candidates and an organization in over half the State.
That sounds like a classic Democratic response from years past. I love the fact that the tables are turned this cycle.
Wadhams couldn’t manage his way out of a paper bag and it may explain why the State GOP is in shambles right now (low on funds, missing candidates, lack of organization). It appears he’ll have the same “Midas Touch” on Schaffer’s race as well.
Again, I don’t think Udall has anything to worry about here.
Granted, Allen’s race was a train-wreck and Wadhams was a large part of that. But if he learned from that, then he may do better here.
And Udall is presently invisible which gives Wadhams the chance to define Udall first.
I say lets be worried and ready for a major fight. If Udall trounces Schaffer then we can gloat – but not until then.
…and has not lived up to his notorious reputation as a “political mastermind.”
This dude is the definition of a political blowhard and has propped up his image so everyone thinks he’s a force to be reckoned with. The truth is he has no idea what the hell he’s doing and is certain to drive Schaffer’s campaign into the ground within six months.
I for one sleep very well a night knowing this idiot is at the helm of the GOP and their top ticket statewide race.
…won’t make it so
…when you’re not the center of attention on this blog everyday, doesn’t it?
on a well-respected member of the ColoradoPols blogging community, now your argument is completely valid! (sarcasm)
Or, just a bunch of basement-dwelling so-called “pundits” that are trying desperately to gain some semblance of political relevance in this state with their laptops and wi-fi connections.
Keep livin’ the dream dude, keep livin’ the dream…
What’s your situation?
I’m quite comfortable with my role and occasional comments here, but thanks!
Completely pointless, completely disrespectful, completely content-free; significantly less tactful than HRC’s campaign insisting that half of the country is “insignificant”…
Perhaps you should consider a read of the core rules of Netiquette before posting.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.
Thanks for “chiming-in” with your content-free drivel as well. Sorry to say, but the core rules of Netiquette we’re thrown out the window the day this site went live. Save your scoldings for someone who actually cares what you think Phoenix.
I’ve been around the Internet since before it was the Internet. I think I know Netiquette when I see it; this site may occasionally devolve into something less than totally civil, but it rarely breaks Netiquette guidelines.
And since you don’t care, you can just not respond. Or, since you don’t think anyone here has any value beyond being a wannabe, you can invest your time more wisely and move along to a site you do care about.
HTH. YHBT. HAND.
Way to go Al Gore! If you and your sorry clan ‘o web weenies feel you must always get the final word in, so be it, I’m done.
For now…
xoxo
Maybe you should consider…
Many years ago, sometime after I started working for a new company, both my best friend and my girl friend told me that I had “become a real asshole” since I started my new employment.
Time to listen.
I changed jobs.
He has done a horrible job to this point of helping Republicans in Colorado. What has he done for anyone since taking the reins at the COLOGOP? I have been severely disappointed with his lack of “handling the press”, recruiting candidates, and managing that office so far.
Good riddance, Schaffer is a loser. And now he’s got another loser running his show. Period.
Collecting a salary as COGOP chair apparently wasn’t enough; now he’s got a nice campaign consulting gig to go with it…
Making $160,000 a year from the Colorado GOP isn’t enough for this guy? I find it hilarious the GOP brought this guy back since he’s going to bleed them dry without gaining a single seat.
Instead of doing his job, he takes someone elses, which in his mind “should be expected…” And it should be expected since every party chairman in the country is so full themselves to believe they should also runs campaign while running the party! What a joke.
Is he going to take all of Schaffer’s money too? I can live with that…
“I can do anything I want,” said Wadhams, noting that there are no rules barring a dual role. “This is a marquee race and a lot is riding on it. There should always have been a presumption that I would be involved.”
Wadhams, the first full-time GOP chair in roughly 40 years, is expected to be paid for his work on the Schaffer campaign; however, nothing has been worked out yet.
As a GOP activist, I have no problem with Dick Wadhams being directly involved in the Schaffer campaign, but I have a lot of concerns with him collecting a salary from both entities. It smacks of the time when Roy Romer was chairman of the Democratic National Committee, while still serving as governor of Colorado.
Be involved with both, if you like, but collect your pay from one or the other. Otherwise, don’t be surprised if we rank and file Republicans are reluctant to donate when you come asking for funds for either effort.
No matter who you donate to, it ends up in Dick Wadham’s pocket.
Wadhams gets a break with Schaffer. Since Schaffer never comments on anything, Wadhams won’t run the same risk as he did with foot-in-mouth Allen.
I would bet the Strickland forces sounded equally as confident in Wadhams demise…
The upshot is 95% of us on this Blog have never actually run a “real” campaign so we can claim ignorance.
It looks like you are saying people are probably wrong today, because as far as we know they would have said the wrong thing in the past if they had the opportunity.
I suppose the counter argument would be:
People here can be trusted to be 100% accurate, because they would have been perfectly right if they had said the right things in 1996 and 2002.
The historical fiction involved is equally provable.
Wadhams brings a sleaze to the race that you can not and must not ignore. Answering false charges, breaking down misinformation, and countering stories contorted beyond recognition amounts to chasing your tail. Udall shold be aware that he will have to counter this onslaught with a staff within his staff dedicated to answering Wadhams’ dirty play. If something untrue, planted by GOP editorial types like Dan Haley goes unchallenged and not counter punched, Schaffer might get traction. It should be a Democratic rout, but the Udall campaign ignores the Wadhams factor at it’s own peril.