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March 06, 2017 11:54 AM UTC

Sorry, Ken Salazar Does Not Have Until "End of Summer"

  • 18 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols
Ken Salazar with former President Barack Obama.

Denver Post political reporters Mark Matthews and John Frank published a story this weekend that focuses on the incipient 2018 gubernatorial race, and the possibility of former U.S. Senator Ken Salazar making a run to replace Gov. John Hickenlooper:

If he wants it, Ken Salazar has the chops and connections to make a hard run at the governor’s mansion in 2018.

His resume includes four years in the U.S. Senate, four years as U.S. Interior Secretary and a fortune’s worth of contacts in Democratic politics. He has more than a passing interest, too.

“Probably by the end of the summer, I will make a decision about what I’m going to do,” Salazar said in an interview with The Denver Post…

One prominent Democrat, former state Sen. Mike Johnston, already announced his candidacy. Congressman Ed Perlmutter of Arvada, former state treasurer Cary Kennedy and several others are eyeing a run, too.

Make no mistake, our purpose here is not to disparage the possibility that Ken Salazar might run for governor in 2018. As one of Colorado’s longest-serving elder statesmen still considered viable for another run for high office, it’s absolutely right that Salazar would be a powerful contender both in the general election and, in the event, a Democratic primary.

With that said, the story’s authors make another observation that should instill a sense of urgency in Salazar:

[W]hatever Salazar decides, it won’t be enough to clear the Democratic field — a situation that speaks to the upheaval that has gripped the Democratic Party in the past year and only tightened since President Donald Trump captured the White House.

There have been many points in Ken Salazar’s career when he was in a sufficiently comfortable position politically to have the luxury of setting his own timeline. As a former U.S. Senator and Interior Secretary during President Barack Obama’s first term, Salazar is Colorado’s highest-ranked Democrat and a logical choice to succeed Gov. Hickenlooper.

One major problem for Ken Salazar is that today there is a wealth of talent in the ranks of Colorado Democrats, waiting to move up in a hierarchy that Salazar hasn’t been part of for several years. In that time, we wouldn’t say that support for Salazar has waned so much as others have worked hard to cultivate their own bases of support. And that support would naturally come at someone else’s expense, like Salazar’s in a primary.

The hard fact at this point is, the Denver Post is right. There are enough talented and experienced Democrats looking at the governor’s race that Ken Salazar can no longer assume a cleared field upon entry. Salazar simply no longer can count on inevitability today where perhaps he might have in a previous election.

And that means if Salazar doesn’t make up his mind until “the end of the summer,” the decision may already be made for him.

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18 thoughts on “Sorry, Ken Salazar Does Not Have Until “End of Summer””

      1. Uh.  Moldy.  Bashing Teachers Unions does not make you look educated when you put the apostrophe before the "s" in "Pols". 

        But does this mean your down with Johnston now?  First Cynthia Coffman, then Walker Stapleton?  Now Mike Johnston?   Damn, you just don't commit.  Kind of like being against Trump before you were for him. 

        1. Moddy was a Gessler man in '14. That is, until he became a Beauprez man in '14.

          He'll probably a Gessler man in '18. Until he is for someone else.

  2.  Salazar is Colorado’s highest-ranked Democrat and a logical choice to succeed Gov. Hickenlooper.

    Logical choice? Sure..if you want to lose again. 

    It is no secret the Clinton/Wall Street wing of the Democratic party is still in charge. Ken is a nice man and an experienced bureaucrat, but is too connected to the same old power centers. He will not inspire a new generation of voters unless he takes Bernies' message and runs with it…which isn't going to happen.

    Don't do it, Ken…no matter what the oil and gas guys promise you.

    1. We have a requisition in for five new trolls.   So far, we've been offered skivvy 101 and smellyanne.  A really paucity of challengers.  Oh, well, at least pp occasionally has a flash of humor.

       

        1. Under that plan, pp, AC and Moldy are traded to Peak for a future Fascist.  Final lineup 6 Trolls, 11 intelligent commentators and one real conservative on a head banging spree.

          1. Thank you for your kind remark, even though we don't always agree on stuff.

            I would offer an addendum. Michael Bowman is in a class by himself, and a high class at that.

            1. Thanks for the compliment, C.H.B. –  I'm confident Moddy and AC's sphincter muscles tightened up enough reading your comment that it would have taken a John Deere tractor to pull a straight pin from their nether regions at that point. I enjoy your thoughtful contributions to the discourse here. 

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