July 07, 2016 02:40 PM UTC

Colorado's CD-6 Gaining Ever-Larger Swing State Status

• 3 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

Earlier this week, we noted that Colorado’s CD-6, currently occupied by incumbent Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Aurora), appears to be growing in importance as Republicans worry that Presidential nominee Donald Trump may bring down the whole damn majority in November.

Today, as the Aurora Sentinel reports, national Democrats announced that CD-6 — where state Sen. Morgan Carroll (D-Aurora) is looking to unseat Coffman — is picking up more resources as a Top 10 targeted race:

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has said they are coordinating a “seven-figure national ad buy” with two ads due to run starting Monday, July 11, and continuing through the Republican National Convention. The DCCC has labeled the move as somewhat unprecedented, given that a lot of similar advertising comes later in the election cycle.

Colorado’s 6th Congressional District — home to the hotly contested race between U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Aurora, and term-limited state Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora — is one of 10 U.S. House districts the ad campaign is targeting beyond the national spots secured.

The message of the ads — which come less than two weeks after Coffman’s campaign released its first ad for the 2016 election — highlights Trump and the majority of Republicans who have either voiced support for him or refused to disavow his candidacy. One ad, titled “Standards,” aims to suggest Republicans have put party loyalty ahead of their own standards in accepting Trump as their nominee. Another ad, titled “Sidekick,” likens Republican congressional candidates to “bystanders to the class yard bully.”

Both Carroll’s campaign and DCCC efforts in the CD6 race have sought to tie Coffman to Trump and his policy positions. In particular, a statement by Coffman campaign spokeswoman Kristin Strohm that Coffman “obviously” would support the Republican presidential nominee over Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton has been a main focus for connecting Coffman to Trump.

Coffman and his campaign team are well aware of the difficult national climate ahead, which is why they are already working hard to convince voters that Coffman is a friendlier, more accessible Coffman than in years past. They are going to have a harder time convincing voters that Coffman is not a Trump supporter, however — not unless Coffman comes out and makes a definitive break from His Hairness.

There is risk for Coffman in distancing himself from Trump as well; as much as he doesn’t want moderate voters to know that he is cool with Trump’s candidacy, he still needs to remind his base that he’s still onboard.