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July 10, 2017 03:19 PM UTC

BREAKING: Ed Perlmutter Will Exit Gubernatorial Race

  • 34 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE #2: State Sen. Andy Kerr, a candidate to replace Perlmutter in Congress:

Ed Perlmutter has been a friend, a mentor, and a hardworking public servant for the people of Adams and Jefferson Counties. I wish him nothing but the best in whatever path he chooses next.

—–

Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Jefferson County).

UPDATE: Peter Marcus at the Colorado Springs Gazette confirms, Ed Perlmutter will not run again in CD-7:

Sources close to Perlmutter’s campaign, as well as sources from the campaigns of the three Democrats looking to replace him in Congress, confirmed to Colorado Politics that Perlmutter will announce on Tuesday that he is dropping out of the race.

Those sources also confirmed that Perlmutter will not run for re-election in 2018, which leaves the seat open for a spirited Democratic primary.

State Sen. Andy Kerr of Lakewood, Rep. Brittany Pettersen of Lakewood, and Sen. Dominick Moreno of Commerce City, are all in a battle to take over Perlmutter’s seat.

—–

As quickly as it began, breaking news from the Denver Post’s Mark Matthews rocks the 2018 Colorado elections:

U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter plans to announce Tuesday that he will end his run for Colorado governor, just three months after the Arvada Democrat started it, according to two sources close to the campaign.

The surprise decision by the sixth-term lawmaker comes a few weeks after another Colorado Democrat, U.S. Rep. Jared Polis of Boulder, said he would join the race.

There’s a lot we’re awaiting now: whether Rep. Ed Perlmutter will retain his CD-7 seat or retire from Congress, the exact reason for this momentous decision, and how this move will affect other candidates in the 2018 gubernatorial primary. We’ll update as soon as we know more.

Comments

34 thoughts on “BREAKING: Ed Perlmutter Will Exit Gubernatorial Race

  1. You know what this means? It means Colorado will elect the state's first only LGBT governor in 2018. I'm psyched.

    Ed, hats off to you. Please keep your powder dry for 2020!

      1. Give Perlmutter a break so he can go full force against Gardner.  I like that kind of a strategy.  I'm OK if he wants to get out of politics altogether.  He has served his constituents well which is more than I can say for Gardner.

  2. Have to assume fundraising numbers were not going to be strong, which is a shame. Polis is okay on the issues but he inherited wealth and got richer and then bought a seat on the regents, which doesn't exactly endear me to him as he's now going to buy a nomination.

    Hopefully Kennedy can compete, and Johnston just fades away

    1. Yeah, that's pretty much what happened in 2008 when Polis won the CD2 seat. I strongly supported Joan Fitz-Gerald, who won big at the CD2 assembly. However, Polis got enough support to force a primary, which he won in no small part due to a tsunami of TV and print ads paid for from his own resources. Fitz-Gerald couldn't come close to keeping up with all that spending.

      Took a while, but Polis earned my respect as a legislator and my support in subsequent CD2 elections. Can he win a statewide election, though? Unless a super-strong contender emerges, I guess we're gonna find out.

      1. He actually won a statewide race. In 2000, he defeated Ben Alexander, the incumbent member of the state board of ed, by about 90 votes. 

      2. Could be a replay of 08 when a highly qualified woman is shoved aside by a highly qualified checkbook. Like Genghis, I've learned to respect Polis, but the politics of brute force depressed the hell out of me.

        1. I didn't view that as money vs. qualified (and JFG was very qualified). I viewed it as money equalized all the favors JFG was owed from her years of legislating.

          I think those were a push which then made the race a competition between what each candidate offered. Which is what it should be.

    2. Just a polite reaction to Polis and "inherited wealth." Polis won't brag his achievements, so I will on his behalf. As a tech entrepreneur myself, I can especially appreciate what he accomplished. 

      Polis wrote a unique code that arguably became one of the foundational codes that inspired streaming video and flash itself. The code he wrote, in today's financial figures, would be worth well above $1 billion (likely much more). This wasn't a mistake either – Polis has terrific tech skills (in conjunction with business skills) and executed upon them. You can say the word 'inherited' but the man is a tech inventor and deserved all the wealth he created for himself (much of it went to charity as well). 

      With that – Colorado is increasingly becoming a tech hub – Polis is one of the few people who is uniquely situated to empower the tech industry, while making sure that Colorado's core culture is preserved. He would be a slam-dunk choice for Governor. 

      Lastly – I love Perlmutter and wish him well – I hope his endeavors continue. 

        1. Duke – always wonderful to hear from you!

          I opened a tech-healtchare startup here in California – it is going great! I feel very blessed and I'm having a lot of fun watching the company grow. 

          Are you still in GJ? I'm toying with the idea of taking a train trip to the state, as my little one is obsessed with trains – decent chance we stop in GJ. Will let you know if so – with love – ALI

  3. Go ahead, Moderatus — dare to dream, Fluffy . . . 

    . . . Governor Owen Hill!!!

    . . . the cards are starting to fall into place now, huh?!?

    1. Actually Moldy has already hitched his wagon to the Brauchler campaign.

      And when Brauchler loses the state assembly vote to Walker Stapleton, Moldy will hitch his wagon to Stapleton's bandwagon.

      And after Stapleton loses the primary to Bob Beauprez, Moldy will hitch his wagon to Both Ways.

      Much as he did last year when he professed #NeverTrump.

  4. My view: Because the GOP refuses to consider impeachment of Trump they are not worthy of their congressional seats. Because redistricting occurs this upcoming governor cycle and the Colorado governor impacts redistricting, the GOP is not worthy of regaining the governor's mansion.

    If we get a pro-liberty Dem as governor that is just an added bonus. Otherwise, voting Dem is a necessary cost the Trumpistas have imposed on us 

      1. I'll consider unaffiliating from the Libertarians if that means (as an unaffiliated voter) I can vote for Jared in the primary.  My wife may volunteer for him. 

    1. Whatever works for you, Elliott! Welcome to our team's roller coaster, even if you've only purchased a ticket which is good for one ride only.

  5. This is an unmitigated disaster for Colorado's students and schools, as it means that the only two Dems (that anyone's heard of) left in the race are both corporate Reformites.

    On a practical level, Polis and Johnston are no different than Betsy DeVos – both favor opening more charters, diverting more public funds to private-sector rackets, and driving career teachers from the profession. Given that Polis and Johnston see eye-to-eye with Republican eduhaters, and if elected would likely work closely with them to further gut our public schools, Perlmutter's decision effectively dooms the vast majority of the next couple of generations of Colorado kids to lifetimes of intellectual squalor, and likely represents the beginning of the end of public schooling in our state.

      1. Good point, and thanks for making it – I'm so worried about the DINOs from Big Money sucking all the air out the room that I automatically discounted any Dem that doesn't have DFER's seal of malignancy. I'll look into Kennedy, and at this point, may wind up volunteering for her campaign.

    1. Moonbat, I think you might be overstating the evil educational intent of Jared Polis just a tad.

      His heart was in the right place on funding  the New America charter school effort – English learners and other "square pegs in round hole" kiddos do need individualized educational plan.

      I subbed there a couple of times in between regular teaching gigs, and I found it to be very loosely administered, to put it kindly.  But I can also tell you that the relationships between staff and students are very tight, and that students are progressing towards graduation, albeit not at the same pace as other students that started out with English skills and supportive homes. That's huge for these kids.

        All of the staff, including me, were paid the regular rates for the district. Those who started out in the union were still covered by the union.

      IIRC, Jared introduced legislation to hold charters to the same accountability standards as non-charter schools, which is a step forward. I've had differences with Polis on energy policy, was deeply disappointed in the way he abandoned the ballot initiatives for a do-nothing Governor's blue ribbon commission, but on education I'm seeing that he walks his talk.  

      Johnston is a horse of a different color – he really would like to defund public education in favor of privatized schools, and he is no friend to the teacher's union.

      1. Alas, I wish I was overstating the case against Polis, but he's definitely a fan of charter schools, whether they work or not. For him, it's all about not having to listen to a bunch of unionized teachers or deal with their collective bargaining agreements.

        I appreciate that you've worked at NAS, and dig that you had a positive experience, but nothing about the positive atmosphere you describe sounds much different from that in a well-run, well-funded public school. Plus, scores in almost all public schools are higher than those generated by Polis' places – according to Great Schools.org, NAS has a 4-year graduation rate of 22% (state average 79%), and its students scored 11% in Writing and 22% in Reading (state averages 52% and 67%, respectively); they didn't even register in the tally of the Math exams (state 37%).

        As for myself, I stand with the NAACP, which called in its platform last year for a moratorium on new charters, and strongly feel that the only policies that can possibly right the disastrous course we're on would shutter every charter in the state and start the hard work of re-integrating their students back into our public schools.

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