October 27, 2016 11:50 AM UTC

Get More Smarter on Thursday (October 27)

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• by: Colorado Pols

Your Denver Nuggets are undefeated! Sure, it’s only one game, but enjoy it while it lasts. 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…

► Got ballot? If you don’t — or if you know someone who still hasn’t received a ballot — then you need to do something about it. Go to JustVoteColorado.org to start investigating the problem and contact your county clerk for answers. You can always vote at a polling place as well, whether or not you have received a mail ballot (but only if you haven’t already submitted a completed ballot). Check here for your nearest polling location. Denver7 also includes a good list of election-related information.

► Democrats are still outpacing Republicans in terms of early ballot returns, according to the latest figures from the Colorado Secretary of State’s office. Republicans are normally far ahead of Democrats in early voting totals — a trend that has reversed in 2016 for the first time in recent memory. Here’s the latest tallies as of Thursday morning:

Ballots Returned + Early Voting
Democrats:     224,914
Republicans:  196,082
Unaffiliated:   143,866

Longtime Colorado political reporter Ernest Luning continues to track early voting numbers and breakdowns by district/office. Democrats are voting in higher numbers in the swing state Senate battleground of SD-19 (Arvada/Westminster) and in Congressional District 6 (Aurora). Republicans are slowly catching up to Democrats overall, but remember: It is unprecedented for Democrats to not be trailing Republicans in early voting returns.

► Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz was the first Member of Congress to completely dump Trump after accusations of sexual assault surfaced for the Republican Presidential nominee. But as the Washington Post and other outlets are reporting, Chaffetz is reversing himself and now pledging that he will vote for Donald Trump for President:

Nineteen days ago, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) was so over Donald Trump.

“I’m out. I can no longer in good conscience endorse this person for president,” Chaffetz said the day after The Washington Post revealed Trump’s 2005 “Access Hollywood” tape. The breaking point, Chaffetz went onto say, was that he couldn’t look his 15-year-old daughter in the eye and talk about what the GOP presidential nominee said: “It is some of the most abhorrent and offensive comments that you can possibly imagine.”

That was 19 days ago. Now, he’s — well, here’s where Chaffetz stands on Trump as of Wednesday night:

I will not defend or endorse @realDonaldTrump, but I am voting for him. HRC is that bad. HRC is bad for the USA.

— Jason Chaffetz (@jasoninthehouse) October 27, 2016

We certainly hope that Chaffetz has good health insurance coverage; we can only imagine the horrific back troubles associated with not having a spine.

This waffling from Chaffetz is not helpful to Colorado Republicans such as Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Aurora). In his own wishy-washy manner, Coffman has kinda sorta tried to distance himself from Trump; now, thanks to Chaffetz, Coffman is going to get those questions all over again.

► Why is Chaffetz suddenly taking a pro-Trump position after being so defiant in his repudiation of the GOP nominee? It’s politics, baby: Chaffetz wants to be a lead figure in Republican plans to hold endless hearings and challenges to soon-to-be President Hillary Clinton. Chaffetz may also be angling for support as a potential replacement House Speaker to Rep. Paul Ryan, though using your family as a political shield and then shrugging off those concerns weeks later doesn’t exactly paint Chaffetz as a strong leader. One way or the other, we may see a new Speaker of the House next month.

► What’s it like to be a candidate for public office in Colorado as the hours melt away before Election Day? Check out the Get More Smarter Show for an interview with state Sen. Andy Kerr, a veteran of several close legislative races who doesn’t have to worry about his own campaign this year.

Get even more smarter after the jump…

IN CASE YOU ARE STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…

► Senator Cory Gardner (R-Yuma) is everywhere but his home state of Colorado this month, so Republicans are being forced to import other GOP Senators to help Colorado candidates. Yesterday, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz stumped in Colorado on behalf of lost-cause GOP Senate candidate Darryl Glenn. On Friday, we get a new rotation:

.Utah’s @SenMikeLee to campaign for @DarrylGlenn2016 Fri morn Ft Collins, aft/evening Castle Rock, follows @tedcruz today #copolitics #cosen pic.twitter.com/IepquLFXDq

— Ernest Lee Luning (@eluning) October 27, 2016

► Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rep. Ken Buck (R-Greeley) teamed up on Wednesday to campaign on behalf of Republican Senate candidate Darryl Glenn.

► Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump could be closing in on the record books — though an historical pummeling at the polls is probably not how Trump was thinking this might end.

Elsewhere, Trump is tanking so YUGELY that Democrats sense opportunities to win in normally blood-red Texas.

► Republican Vice Presidential candidate Mike Pence was in Colorado Springs on Wednesday trying to convince GOP voters to dig those mail ballots out of the trash. Eric Trump follows up the Pence visit with a handful of stops in Colorado today on behalf of his father, Donald Trump.

► Bipartisanship isn’t totally dead thanks to Amendment 71.

► President Obama formally endorsed a handful of legislative candidates in Colorado.

► Fox 31 Denver lands an interview with Anne Holton, the wife of Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Tim Kaine. The odds of Fox 31 landing a second interview with Holton probably decreased after a headline promoting a discussion with the potential “Second Lady.”

► Donald Trump likes to say that the media is out to get him, but maybe he’s looking in the wrong direction. Perhaps it is a conspiracy involving sentient microphones instead.

► Finally, a guide for what you should do about all those judge retention questions on the ballot.

OTHER LINKS YOU SHOULD CLICK

► Score one for online privacy! Until you get hacked by Russia, of course.

► It appears that we’re all running out of stuff to talk about when it comes to Donald Trump.

ICYMI

► “Saturday Night Live” may be the only institution in America that legitimately wishes the Presidential election would continue for another year or two.

Don’t forget to check out The Get More Smarter Show. You can also Get More Smarter by liking Colorado Pols on Facebook!