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March 07, 2018 10:23 AM UTC

Cary Kennedy's Big Night Narrows Democratic Primary

  • 45 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols
Cary Kennedy.

AP reporting via Denver7 on the results of yesterday’s Democratic precinct caucuses, in which former Treasurer Cary Kennedy outperformed–and solidified her position in what is increasingly a two-person primary:

Democratic voters attending Colorado’s non-binding party caucuses have selected former state treasurer Cary Kennedy as their top choice for governor.

The Colorado Democratic Party said Wednesday that Kennedy received 50 percent of more than 23,000 votes cast Tuesday night.

U.S. Rep. Jared Polis followed with nearly 33 percent. Former state Sen. Mike Johnston had nearly 9 percent, according to preliminary results.

Kennedy’s campaign was rightfully jubilant in a press release last night:

With support of 50% of the statewide caucusgoers, Kennedy’s total was higher than all the other candidates combined. With this victory, Kennedy is in a strong position to win the primary and receive topline at the State Assembly. Kennedy won 9 of the 11 biggest counties: Denver, Boulder, Jefferson, Arapahoe, EL Paso, Douglas, Weld, Mesa and Pueblo. Kennedy won the majority of delegates in key rural and suburban counties, showing her ability to win not only the primary, but to win the general election in November.

“I am so grateful for the incredible showing of support. I could feel the momentum building as I traveled the state.” said Kennedy.

It was a great night for Kennedy, who chose the assembly route to the ballot instead of a petition campaign and frankly needed to own her chosen path to the ballot–against what would still be well-organized caucus campaigns from her challengers taking the petition path. Getting to 50% in a five-candidate field indicates momentum for Kennedy among base Democrats that can’t be ignored.

By contrast, Mike Johnston’s paltry 8.8% showing in yesterday’s caucuses shows how little relative momentum he has in the primary among Democratic base voters, despite the fact that he has consistently raised respectable amounts of money. Johnston’s alienation of public education supporters in particular during his time as a state lawmaker is clearly reflected in his poor results last night, and further defines Johnston as a candidate with narrow, insider, and (dare we say it) corporate appeal.

In short, there’s still time for the unexpected to occur, but yesterday’s results for us are fully consistent with the trend we’ve been observing for some time in the Colorado Democratic gubernatorial primary: moving toward a two-person race, between a popular, capable, and experienced public servant in Cary Kennedy, versus one of the state’s best-known progressive leaders and innovators, Rep. Jared Polis.

And it’s shaping up to be one of the most gripping primaries Democrats in Colorado have had in many years–maybe since Polis’ own election to Congress back in 2008. Whatever happens, the next few months will make for some lively blue-on-blue interplay.

We’re looking forward to blogging it.

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45 thoughts on “Cary Kennedy’s Big Night Narrows Democratic Primary”

    1. Either Cary Kennedy or Jared Polis would be light-years preferable to anything served up by the Grand Old Perverts Party.

      By the way, how did your girlfriend Cynthia do last night? Since there are no preference polls at GOP caucus, how did you read your tea leaves? 

      1. Moderatus should be more interested in how much of the Koch brothers, up to, $400 million they're spending this year on elections ends up in Colorado. Watch for the spending patterns of so-called Americans for Prosperity, a Koch front group.

  2. My precinct had 9 voting for Kennedy, 3 for Polis and 3 for Johnston. Polis won a coin flip to win the tie for 1 delegate.

    In an age of computers and virtual meetings, going face to face in a middle school science room is a bit of an anachronism. As of January, there were 1,003,424 registered Democrats. 23,000 (2.29%) were counted last night.

     

        1. Tuesday.  I haven't missed a caucus since I moved to Colorado 22 years ago.  I still think they are a crappy way to conduct democracy.  I'm privileged enough to not be homebound, and I work a 9-5 job, so I'm not structurally excluded from participating.  That doesn't mean that I don't recognize how this system is exclusionary for a good number of people.

  4. Most of the money Mike Johnston has raised has come from out of state.  Maybe he should have spent more time meeting with potential voters in Colorado rather than attending fundraisers in NYC and California.  At my precinct caucus no one even wanted to speak on behalf of Mike, even though he was our Senator.

  5.  I recall way back in 2010 when Senator Romanoff crushed at caucus and Superintendent Bennet just quit and went on to other things.

    Cause that's how it works.

    I love Ms. Kennedy. She's great.
    She's not the nominee. 

      1. Mike Miles was a great candidate.
        And I totally understood why everyone loved him.  I thought sure, he's the front runner, but if he doesn't win this race, what will he do next?  

        Fix more schools I understand.

      1. Salazar started too late – can't win.
        Obama? back bencher fro Chicago? can't win.
        Bennet?  School superintendent who used to work for … some rich guy. Can't win.

        Udall is great- he's a lock.
        Coffman sux, CD6 is gonna flip, this time for sure. (Eng, Flerlage, Miklosi, Romanoff, Carroll)

        Stop telling me who can win and who cannot.
        Freaking red state Ds – you all think cause the party insiders love your candidate you can start dreaming about easy summer afternoons in the Colorado golden sunshine as your candidates just show up and be awesome while their opponents suck.

        Winning matters. A lot.

        Organize. VR. 
        repeat.
        Then GOTV.

        That's all that works.

        You sure you are American?

          1. Angry.

            I am angered by poorly informed knuckleheads spouting baloney.

             

            It wasn't that crazy
            3 candidates who "couldn't win" but they did.
            1 candidate who couldn't lose – but did
            5 candidates who were gonna win, coach. but lost

            I beg the red state D's or red district D's to stop telling me who can't win or who will win when they've been wrong for 50 years.

            Until 2008 – no presidential candidate carried Arapahoe county since LBJ in 1964.
            Not one.

            I like winning.
            And I don't need or like red state losers telling me how to win. Which is their code for how to lose.

            The recipe for winning is organizing. Voter Registration. over and over
            And then get out the vote.

            have another V – and be careful.

            1. Okay, I'm going to go with the idea you were drunk.

               

              Why is another Coloradan a "red state loser"

              While a Hickenlooper hating fruit loop like you is somehow a winner?

              Switch from Scotch to marijuana.  

              It will improve your writing.

          1. I don't know where to begin with that, MADCO. 

            Boulder liberal Mark Udall (thank you, Dick Wadhams, for the label) won a statewide race in 2008, and if he had smiled and talked about something in addition to abortion, he would have won re-election in 2014.

            The accusation against Jared is that he hates and/or protects oil and gas. Take your pick. He's been criticized from both sides on that. Usually when someone is getting trashed from both extremes (the fossile fuel industry and the tree huggers), it's a sign they have a balanced position.

            As for the gay thing being an issue, as a gay man, I take offense at your remark. Jared has run and won a statewide race for Board of Education. It was close and required a recount. But he did win the one race he ran statewide.

            And openly gay candidates have won in redder states than Colorado (to wit: Tammy Baldwin in Trump Country Wisconsin). The gay guy can't win line is a lavender herring.

            And with all due respect to Cary Kennedy, she too won a statewide race against Mark Hillman. But she lost to Walker "Doofus" Stapleton. She may be able to beat Doofus this November if she and he are the respective nominees.  Or she may lose to him again.

            1. To win that state board of ed seat, he spent more than a million dollars against a republican who spent almost nothing.

              As to the Doofus, I think the Trumpstink factor will be overwhelming.

              The test now is simply can Jared tap his personal wealth to overwhelm a highly qualified woman, as he did to beat Joan Fitzgerald.

              I'm rooting for the best woman to win.  But I respect Polis and will support him again the Trumpstink candidate in November if it comes to that.

              1. As to the Doofus, I think the Trumpstink factor will be overwhelming

                Here's hoping that turns out to be right. I think you are right about the Trumpstink but you and I both thought HRC was going to be elected president.

                I do not mean to trash Cary Kennedy. I like her and I will enthusiastically support her if she wins the primary.

                1. You in no way trashed Cary. Likewise, I have a lot of respect for Jared and hope that is clear.   I do think he has a balanced energy policy — as I do — and recognizes the need for natural gas , never coal, to bridge the gap in electric production until wind/solar can solve their intermittency issues.

                  On this board, a balanced position on energy is akin to praising pedophilia in the eyes of many, i.e. Duke and mj.  I don't mind the heat but hope it doesn't do Jared in.

                  Cary herself is no freeze in the dark gal.

                  I think we have two very good choices.  Mike and the rest of the pack will probably drop out after the convention.

                   

                  1. You might consider actually asking Duke or myself what our ideas on energy are, and whether we support Polis' approach, Kennedy's, or ???

                    I know, that's contrary to your m.o., which is to use your mysterious superpowers to read our minds, then tell us what we think, then insult us for what (you believe that) we think, and then to further bask in your victimhood at our "hating on you".

                    I don't "hate you"  as a person- but I think that your posting behavior reeks of intellectual laziness, gaslighting, and bullying.  I despise this behavior.

                    I happen to love bad lip reading.

                    Bad mind reading – not so much.

                    1. Oh, stop whining.  I said my brother in Law and nephew worked in the industry.  You came back out of nowhere accusing my son in law of profiting from oil leases.  I still don't know if you were so drunk you couldn't tell the difference or if you just decided, Trumplike, that the lie would work for you better than the truth.

                      So dry your tears and stop worrying about me reading your mind.

                      There ain't that much mind to read.

      3. I may disagree with Jared on half or more things, but I’ll say this: after having gotten to know a crap ton of politicians in both major parties, Jared is one of the more authentic pols I have met.  Dude has heart in right place and at least flags the right issues to analyze even if he often comes to different conclusions than I would like. And that is no small thing; many politicians can’t even get key components of complicated issues flagged, let alone analyzed as they are so over their head.  

        Ultimately, it appears to me – from outside looking in – that Jared gets flack not because he “is too liberal/gay/Boulderesque”; rather it seems to me that he gets crap because he is an anti-Cory Gardner; namely somebody who does not what he is told but rather what he has analyzed and decided is right. And don’t think punishing pols who act like that is just a Dem thing; I remember in 2014 when Gessler had one challenger after another foisted on him because (I suspect) because he didn’t toe the line for the powers that be. You know what? I am sick of politicians that do what they do because they are told to do it, just as I am sick of politicians who do what they do because they watched a TV special on Fox and Friends or Maddox that said they should believe X. I want somebody who has the brains and courage to figure things out in an intellectually honest way while defending the core values of our democratic republic that I had hoped previously we all shared.

        In this moment of constitutional crisis, we need somebody like that sitting in the governor’s mansion.  I just don’t see Carol Kennedy, Walker Stapleton, Mike Johnson, or Cynthia Coffman having these qualities in nearly the same degree. 

        So tell me that Jared can’t win, and I will respond with (a) prove it; and (b) I don’t care even if you can prove it.  He has my support.

        1. Well said. I think Polis has a far better chance of being the next governor than Kennedy, despite all the Pols-ters going great ga-ga over her caucus wins. Polis also has my vote unless Mitchell gets the Repub nomination. Then I gotta think on that.

          (disclosure: I've met both Polis and Mitchell)

        2. he gets crap because he is an anti-Cory Gardner; namely somebody who does not what he is told but rather what he has analyzed and decided is right

          That is because he is not doing the bidding of the Koch or of the other donors like Gardner must do.  That is one advantage to being independently wealthy.

          1. Trump is independently wealthy.  But he still can’t get his analysis straight on any issue.  You gotta have both the desire to get it right and the ability to do accomplish it.  Jared has each in spades.

            1. It is highly debatable whether he really is independently wealthy or whether he just has an incredible ability to borrow money from lenders (some legitimate and acceptable, others holding kompromat as collateral).

              But your point is valid. Money alone just gets you a rich guy or gal in office with no ideas of where to go do or how to get there.

        3. I share your regard for Jared.  But your evaluation of CARY Kennedy and Mike JOHNSTON is seriously undercut by the fact that you couldn't even get their names right.

          Oh well, Wally, we all make misteaks!

          1. Perhaps Mr. Fladen's "misspellings" are a function of Kennedy and Johnston being little known outside their narrow, far left, silos?

              1. I haven't read it (Wool); or heard of it until now. Did a quick Google. May check out the first book when I finish what's in the reading queue. Working now on book 3 of the five book Warded Man series. Got another series also in the queue. 

              1. Nah, couldn 't be.  That would imply Elliott was blowing opinions out his ass without facts to support them. That could never happen on a blog, right, Fluffy?

                1. You are elevating the simple-minded sound bites that Moddy spouts to the level of being "opinions"?  You're being overly generous, V!

              2. I wrote the names exactly as they appeared on the Nigerian birth certificates.

                /sarcasm

                Seriously, I just got careless in checking for typos.  My bad

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