June 24, 2012 10:38 PM UTC

First Romney Campaign Office Now Open in Jeffco

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• by: Colorado Pols

Jefferson County promises to be a battleground county in a battleground state this election cycle, with the Obama campaign jockeying to perform as well as it did in 2008 — when then-Senator Obama swept the county by nearly 10 percentage points. For its part, the Romney campaign is making every effort to reduce and overcome those numbers in 2012. If Obama loses Jefferson County, after all, there’s a good chance he loses the White House along with it: a loss in Jeffco is attendant of a loss in nearly every competitive district across the country.

Well aware of that fact, then, the Romney campaign selected Jeffco as the home of its first campaign office in Colorado.

From the Colorado Statesman’s Ernest Luning:

With just over four months to go until the November election, presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney’s campaign finally has an office of its own in Colorado.

“It is an exciting day because today we have the opportunity to kick off the Romney campaign in Colorado officially, with the opening of the statewide headquarters for Romney Victory,” said state Republican Party Chairman Ryan Call, welcoming roughly 200 supporters on Saturday to the campaign’s spacious digs in the Denver West office park in Lakewood.

Surrounded by candidates for offices ranging from county commissioner to Congress, Call said that the office will serve as headquarters for Republican campaigns from president all the way down to the local level.

As Luning points out, the Romney campaign is still playing catch-up to Obama’s team in field efforts: the president’s campaign has already opened 13 offices in Colorado, with more on the way.

Still, that the Romney campaign selected Jefferson County as the location for its first campaign office in Colorado highlights the amount of time and money Romney (and outside groups) will be spending in the region. While that will certainly impact the presidential race at the top of the ballot, it will also bolster Republican candidates down-ticket, especially in some of the area’s most competitive seats.

If Romney takes Jeffco, then, there’s a good chance that Republicans will be welcoming Lang Sias and Ken Summers into the State Senate. But if Obama comes anywhere close to his 2008 numbers, State Senator Evie Hudak will be joined in that chamber by Andy Kerr.