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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(R) Jeff Hurd
(D) Adam Frisch
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
52%↑
48%↓
State Senate Majority
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DEMOCRATS
REPUBLICANS
80%
20%
State House Majority
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DEMOCRATS
REPUBLICANS
95%
5%
February 26, 2014 03:49 PM UTC
34 Comments
Don't let wishful thinking cloud your judgement. Cory Gardner is a much better candidate than the alternatives. He is very good at selling himself to both the base and those in the middle.
He can't be worse
?
I have to agree that he's a better fundraiser, and probably better campaigner.
But all of his baggage is current. It's documented. It hasn't really been used against him yet. And, well, he isn't generally what Colorado likes in a Senator.
Sure he can sell himself – but he hasn't run in a race like a Senate race before. He's going to get plastered with all the negative things he is. He can tell lies about Udall, but Udall gets to tell the truth about Cory Gardner until it hurts.
+1
Any talk of Gardner's somehow magically "appealing to the middle" is a laughably hopeless pipe dream. We will make certain all Colorado voters know precsiely who and what this guy is.
I am the middle and I really dislike Gardner. He's everything I hate about politicians.
I think this is the best shot the Republicans have and I would not take him lightly.
He is in a solid position to go after the middle and that is where this race will be won or lost.
Yeah, right. He CAN go after the middle–but that will like trying to grab an arm full of air. And Gardner will be just about as successful.
Shhh…. don't talk them out of it.
Whatever his alleged gladhanding skills, Gardner is at core a rotten candidate becuase he is an extremist right-winger and a documented liar, backslider and obfuscator, very likely to be crushed on the Front Range. I welcome his entry. En garde, teabagger!
This is so good I can't stand it. I was hoping Limbaugh would do something stupid so I could plan another War On Women parade, but now this. There is a G-d, and she's brilliant.
Just my 2 cents?
Wow, has this race has become so much easier for me – Ken Buck and Mark Udall are two good friends of mine. I got to know Ken Buck well when I ran for State Treasurer – yes, he has some difficult views on politics, but amongst the people I met in the GOP, he had integrity and true loyalty – traits that are VERY difficult to find in the Colorado GOP. Ken Buck's wife, Perry, actively endorsed and told delegates to vote for me at the 2010 State Convention. I didn't make the ballot, but Ken's friendship was one of those things that made the race worth it. I called him "Uncle Buck" throughout much of the campaign.
Mark Udall is a candidate I got to know during my runs in 2008 and 2010. I got to know Ken Buck better, but no US Senator has impressed me more than Mark Udall. No Democrat has shown support for gays and immigrants, at more critical times, than Udall has. He has also spoken consistenly with conviction and intelligence, appealing less to emotion (as many of us Democrats often do) and appealling more to Constitutional philosophy.
When this race started, it was a tough choice. I love both men and I know they're both good men. It was heartbreaking, for me, to have to see them go up against each other. (It was also heartbreaking, because Owen Hill also supported me in 2010 for State Treasurer, and he's another man who I know will be doing great things for Colorado for a long time). But now? Wow, has my choice become easier!
In running twice, I got know Cory Gardner very well too. Let's not take Gardner lightly – he is well spoken and well researched. He is a LAWYER and trained well in that field, so it's not likely that he's going to say something stupid. Every word he says is carefully measured. Think of the typical politican who is groomed by consultants and you got Gardner. He will NOT deviate from the message and is disciplined. I do think he's the best that the GOP has to offer at this time. However…. Gardner will do the LEAST amount of work possible in order to win – this is his achilles heal. He runs in races that are easy (remember, his first seat was 'appointed'), he hates risks, and he doesn't have a lot of energy. This is first race that Gardner has ever taken on that is of any kind of risk, within his political career. The tough part for Senator Udall is that Gardner will hang ACA around him like a noose and give him pressure on it. Senator Udall MUST have a competent answer for ACA, whether it's a firm defense for why he voted for it, or an explanation on how he will pursue amending it.
For our side, we need to take Colorado issues that Gardner is on the wrong side on, and hammer him on it. We should hammer his stance on gays, immigrants, abortion, and marijuana (of which, a majority of Colorado supported the legalization). Gardner is a good candidate, but remember… he has NEVER ran in a race that had a good opponent. Granted, the CD4 primary had good folks (Tom Lucero, Diggs Brown) but that was a primary that catered to Gardner's conservative views…. now he truly has to defend those views statewide and he won't be able to if the right pressure is applied. Again, remember, candidates who are 'groomed' by consultants, and can't think for themselves, will be overwhelmed when they're hammered with issues they don't have an answer for – that's when the platitudes and cliches come out, and that's how you lose races.
Lastly, this is really Colorado Old vs Colorado New. Gardner will play up his eastern county roots, talk about growing up on a farm, and do the 'aw-shucks' thing. Mark Udall, on the other hand, is Colorado 2.0 – a man who has scaled every Fourteener and represents the State's newest identity, which is based on recreation and environmentalism. If anything, Mark's environmental record could become the deciding factor for independent voters, and issues like fracking, could be the deciders. Mark's persona of recreation and environmentalism is the NEW Colorado image and it will be victorious.
After getting to know both men very well, there is no doubt in my mind, from the perspective of integrity and loyalty, that Mark Udall needs to continue on as a Senator in Wash DC.
Welcome back!
Honestly Ali, you need to get better at separating the personal stuff from your political decisions. Buck is absolutely terrible on all the issues unless you want a continuation of the disaster that is a today's GOTP policy.
I love my rightie uncle to pieces but I'd never dream of helping him get elected to anything. And he knows it and is fine with it. He wouldn't vote for me for anything either. It doesn't interfere with our being there for each other on the personal stuff like comforting each other over loss of loved ones.
Just say no to voting for any Republican. Period. Politics is a team thing, not a series of individual events. Any contribution to the possibility of a Republican majority in any body at any level is a contribution to more horrible, profoundly damaging policy. I don't care how nice one was to you. Not relevant. You shouldn't be torn.
The biggest difference is Gardner has to campaign statewide. Boulder, Arapahoe, Denver, and Jefferson counties do not have much to do with Cory. Cory will probably take a few eastern (we gonna be our own contry) counties and a few western counties, but statewide he is going to miss talking the talk of the cities.
campaigning is hard work and Cory has never really had to do much of it. Campaigning statewide is really hard work
Udall willl win though he will have a tougher scrap. And, a good D in CD-4 has a better shot this time. Bowman?
Wouldn't that be nice!
Yes!
It is nice to have Vic Myers in the race already.
Yes it is. He has a lot of time and windshield miles already logged.
The Democrats have a fine candidate already in Vic Myers who has been actively building a grass roots base for over six months. He will be in Greeley Saturday for a meet and greet fundraiser. Check out his website and facebook page Vic Myers for Congress.
I'm delighted that Vic Meyers has already been working his ass off all over the district for months talking to voters. He's the right guy with the right positions on issues. http://vicmeyers.org/#
Selcome back Ali. You're still wrong on everything, but glad to see you back.
Yeah. Welcome back to good ol' conficted Ali.
I cannot wait to see Mark and Cory standing next to each other at a debate! Maybe Cory will bring his own booster stand. Although physical characteristics are one of the "please, do not mention" areas of politics, in this case it will make a difference. There is also research showing tall men (i do not know about women) are elected over short men.
Udall certainly does look the western Senator from central casting. That never hurts.
Buck is dealing with lymphoma, a blood disease. I think his health was a factor in the "switch."
I think the republicans have made inroads in areas that the dems carried in 2012……specifically Jefferson county and its school board race and Pueblo with the Giron recall.
There are two factors that I think will have the most influence on the Senate race and they are beyond the control of either party, at this point.
The first factor is the Supreme Court decision on the contraceptive mandate that will be announced in June. I don't know what SCOTUS will decide nor can I really speculate which decision would help which party the most….I just think it will be very important.
The second factor is how ACA is impacting each voter. Both sides can spin the stories and deconstruct the examples being given. However, ACA is effecting practically everyone. You can't "spin" a story when someone is paying more for insurance they don't want or need. I have two friends, life long democrats, who were passionate about Obama, who are now "pissed off." Both had policies canceled; both were told that it was because the polices were not compatible with ACA standards, although what those discrepancies were, was not specified. The polices available were more expensive and had coverage they did not want or need. I don't know how common this is. But the experience of the individual voters will be decisive.
The irony in the polsters, the 250K or 335K people who had their plans cancelled, but look at how many of them were able to early renew meme is, guess when their renewal is up? Right around election time. Ouch.
Sounds like they have a problem with their insurers NOT the ACA.
@jbowen
You are right, but if the insurers claim that the policy is not compatible with ACA, the people get pissed at ACA. I think that insurers should have to spell out what the compabibity problem is. But, there is evidently no law or regulation requiring that. Plus, the less impacted demographic is the democratic base – government employees and unions……so democrats are not necessarily hearing from people who are having problems…
What is Mark Udall hiding and why? His numbers just don't add up.
Udall has been busy deleting and banning constituents from posting to both his Senate and Re-election campaign Facebook pages. The numbers of comments that are supposed to be there are significantly less than what is actually there. Cached versions also tell the tale of deception.
Even with all the deletions, it's impossible for Udall to eradicate all the negative comments because they just keep coming from more and more disgruntled Coloradans.
It's a pretty sorry state of affairs when a Senator takes to silencing the concerns of his constituents just to try and get re-elected but Coloradans are starting to catch on to his sneaky subversive tactics.
By concered Coloradans do you mean psychopaths?