March 27, 2013 12:54 PM UTC

Schwartz, Garcia As Potential 2014 Tipton Challengers?

• 7 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

At least two Democrats are considering running against Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Colo., next year: state Sen. Gail Schwartz and Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia. Multiple state Democrats confirmed Schwartz and Garcia are being recruited to run in the state's 3rd Congressional District.

Schwartz, a two-term senator and the majority whip in Colorado's upper legislative chamber, cannot run for her seat again in 2014 due to term limits. Multiple state Democrats hailed her as a potentially strong fundraiser. Schwartz raised just over $235,000 for a razor-thin reelection victory in 2010, and she has been in touch with EMILY's List, the Democratic women’s group renowned for directing donations from its large member list to female candidates.

"We think she would make a strong candidate," EMILY's List spokeswoman Marcy Stech said when asked about Schwartz.

NJ's Scott Bland notes correctly that Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia has never won elective office himself, but has a plenty working in his favor as a potential challenger to Rep. Scott Tipton. As we've said before, Rep. Tipton's most vulnerable re-election cycle was probably his first in 2012, and it's going to be harder to pick him off now that the word "freshman" no longer applies. That said, Sen. Gail Schwartz or Lt. Gov. Garcia could pose a significant threat in a district that's drawn to be competitive each and every cycle.

Garcia's name is also interesting given that he was somewhat inexplicably floated as a potential pick for Obama's cabinet as Secretary of Labor. Not much came of that initial news, and Garcia was not selected, but getting his name floated on a high level certainly turned some heads in Colorado; it certainly wouldn't be unusual for someone like Garcia to get their name included as a "potential nominee" as a means of generating name ID for a different purpose (in this case, CD-3). Remember that before Michael Bennet was then-Gov. Bill Ritter's surprise choice for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Ken Salazar, Bennet was being mentioned as a potential pick for Obama's first Secretary of Education.

And of course, even an entrenched Rep. Tipton could self-immolate any number of ways.