June 18, 2007 06:22 PM UTC

Dogpile on Bernie Buescher?

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• by: Colorado Pols

As the Grand Junction Sentinel reports:

Between six and 10 local Republicans are considering a run against incumbent Rep. Bernie Buescher, D-Grand Junction, next year, according to senior members of the Mesa County Republican Party.

Alan Farina, chairman of the candidate search committee, said his committee has attracted a series of serious candidates who could run against the two-term incumbent next year.

“We actually have several people expressing interest,” Farina said, “some really, really good candidates.”

Farina declined to name names.

Buescher took over his seat, previously held by Republican Gayle Berry, following a fiery 2004 campaign against Republican stalwart Shari Bjorklund. He retained the seat in 2006 by a wide margin, despite hundreds of thousands of dollars in aggressive campaign ads against him.

The candidate committee cannot bar multiple Republicans from running for the Republican nomination, but Farina said he and other party leaders are trying to avoid a primary election.

Colorado Republican Party Chairman Dick Wadhams acknowledged Friday that Buescher is “a strong incumbent,” even though he felt House District 55 “should be” a Republican seat…