June 07, 2016 12:34 PM UTC

Get More Smarter on Tuesday (June 7)

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• by: Colorado Pols

Is it really over? Finally? It’s time to Get More Smarter with Colorado Pols! If you think we missed something important, please include the link in the comments below (here’s a good example). If you are more of a visual learner, check out The Get More Smarter Show.

TOP OF MIND TODAY…

► We all know about the perceived benefits to being one of the first states in the country to cast a vote for President, but what if you’re among the last? Voters in California, New Jersey, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota (Democrats only) and South Dakota will get to play Presidential Primary today, but it won’t matter much. Donald Trump has long since clinched the Republican Presidential nomination, and according to the Associated Press and CNN, the Democratic nomination is now in hand for Hillary Clinton. 

Sorry, California, but it could be worse; Democrats in the District of Columbia will cast primary votes next Tuesday (June 14) in a final gasp of irrelevance before attention shifts to the national party conventions in July.

► Registered Democrats and Republicans should start receiving mail ballots this week in advance of the June 28th Primary election. For more information on checking your registration or address status, or if you just like reading about elections, visit JustVoteColorado.org.

► The Denver Post continues its weeklong look at the five Republican candidates seeking their Party’s nomination for the U.S. Senate. Today’s focus is on Ryan Frazier:

Frazier, 38, is one of five GOP candidates seeking to win the nomination to take on incumbent and well-funded Democrat Michael Bennet in November. Not so long ago, Frazier, was pegged as the “it” guy in Republican politics. He was young, successful, black and charismatic and wasn’t afraid to take a stand on some moderate social issues that didn’t necessarily align with his political party.

Big things were expected from him.

But Frazier’s arrow is pointing down these days, and how successful he is in this race could be key to his political future, observers say.

Frazier tries lamely to message his political past by saying he is “3-2” as a candidate for office. Of course, both losses came back-to-back in 2010 and 2011 — and both were double-digit blowouts.

► All five Republican Senate candidates are scheduled to take part in two high-profile debates this week, beginning tonight on 9News and again on Wednesday evening in Colorado Springs (hosted by the Gazette newspaper). We’ll be following both debates here on Colorado Pols, so check back often.

Get even more smarter after the jump…

IN CASE YOU ARE STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…

► The Chair of the Delta County Republican Party, Linda Sorenson, continues to face calls for her resignation after posting a series of racist Facebook posts last week, but it looks like the Delta GOP is not going to take that exit ramp. Instead, everybody gets some “sensitivity training.”

We find this “resolution” to be a tad ridiculous, particularly since some Delta County GOP officials initially tried to claim that Sorenson’s Facebook page had been hacked as part of some nefarious scheme by liberals to…something.

Perhaps Republicans can invite others to this training — such as the “unknown person” who “hacked” their Twitter account to post a #NeverTrump Tweet on the same day of the Republican State Assembly in April.

► Joey Bunch of the Denver Post has an interesting story today about the hand-wringing and suspense surrounding a potential appearance by Donald Trump at the annual Western Conservative Summit:

Colorado conservatives are anxious about an apparent lack of interest from Donald Trump in attending a major summit here next month, a potential missed opportunity for a presumptive nominee in a swing state he mocked during this spring’s caucuses.

Organizers of Western Conservative Summit are leaving out the welcome mat, just in case, but worry a Mile-High diss by the presumptive GOP nominee could cause wounds to fester within the party.

The concern speaks to the possible divide in Colorado, where Republicans awarded all of their delegates to the national convention to Sen. Ted Cruz during the height of the stop-Trump frenzy.

The annual event is hosted largely by Colorado Christian University, and is scheduled for July 1-3.

► As the New York Times reports, Donald Trump has made his first endorsement in a 2016 congressional race, and it’s not going to make the Koch Brothers very happy:

Donald J. Trump made his first congressional endorsement this weekend, backing Representative Renee Ellmers in a North Carolina primary race in which she has been opposed by heavily funded adversaries…

…Ms. Ellmers has been a target of conservatives for many months, and she has been opposed by Americans for Prosperity, the group affiliated with David H. and Charles G. Koch, and by the anti-tax Club for Growth.

Both groups have declined to back Mr. Trump, the Republican Party’s presumptive presidential nominee.

► Kermit the Frog has long lamented that it ain’t easy being green. In Adams County, it apparently ain’t easy being a Republican.

► Well-known Colorado politico Michael Huttner has been named the new CEO of Fenton Communications.

► The City of Ft. Collins is among those in Colorado that will continue to operate “red light traffic cameras.” For the second consecutive year, the Colorado legislature passed a bill to ban red light cameras; for the second year in a row, Gov. John Hickenlooper vetoed the legislation.

Elsewhere, Hickenlooper approved legislation intended to help bring more doctors to rural Colorado.

► Republican state Rep. Clarice Navarro is getting a poor report card from the Women’s Lobby of Colorado for her performance during the 2016 legislative session.

► Donald Trump and a host of prominent Republicans are arguing about who among them are the most racist. House Speaker Paul Ryan is even entering the fray, which bodes well for…nobody in the Republican Party.

OTHER LINKS YOU SHOULD CLICK

► Did the media ruin Hillary Clinton’s victory celebration? Stupid reporters are always bringing expired potato salad to the potluck. 

► The Longmont Times-Call previews an expensive Democratic Primary fight in HD-10, where House Speaker Dickey Lee Hullinghorst is termed out.

ICYMI

► “Americans for Prosperity” is like the 65th county that nobody wanted. Maybe someone can convince them to secede.

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