Greetings midterm-dead Dems,

Once again your delightful and exuberant board members Matt and Bridgit greet you to discuss the upcoming Colorado Senate election (even though we can barely function — midterms). Colorado is a brand new liberal-trending state. Who would have thought, considering that Focus on the Family was founded there? But its true. Currently both Senators and the Governor are Democrats, and Obama carried the state by roughly 8 percentage points. In addition, both the Colorado State Senate and House are controlled by the Democratic party. Despite all these wonderful things, virtually every political website is labeling this race as a toss-up. Let’s find out why.

This seat was vacated by Ken Salazar, who gave it up to become Secretary of the Interior in the Obama administration. Governor Bill Ritter appointed Michael Bennet, the Denver Public Schools Superintendent, to the seat to serve out Salazar’s term, which ends in 2010. Currently, Bennet is the youngest Senator in the body, being a fresh-faced 44 years young. Bennet entered public service in 1988, serving as an aide to Ohio Governor Richard Celeste, before entering law school. He followed in his father’s political background, who was an ambassador to India as well as an aide to Vice President Hubert Humphrey. After working in the Clinton White House, Bennet then moved to Colorado and served two years as Chief of Staff to Denver Mayor  John Hickenlooper. Prior to his Senate appointment, he served as Superintendent of Denver Public Schools.

Bennet has never been exceedingly popular in Colorado. His was an unexpected appointment, and his approval ratings have no broken 50% since he took office. As a result, former Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff has entered the Democratic primary race, which takes place on August 10th, 2010. Although it would appear that Bennet should be vulnerable, it is in reality highly unlikely that he will lose, having secured the endorsement of President Obama, fellow Senator from Colorado Mark Udall, and Representatives Betsey Markey, Jared Polis,and John Salazar. We expect Bennet to have a relatively easy time securing the Democratic nomination, but we believe that Romanoff has a bright future. On the Republican primary side, there are 6 confirmed candidates, the most important of which are former Lieutenant Governor Jane Norton and Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck. The most recent poll had Norton dominating Buck, but the poll was taken months ago so know one really knows what’s going on there.

When Bennet is put against the Republicans, one begins to see why this race is so exciting. Against Norton, Rasmussen has Bennet down by 14 points. However, a Daily Kos poll taken the same day as another Rasmussen poll has Bennet up by one. In addition, Norton has never run a race on her own; the only office she has occupied is the Lt. Governor position, which she won on a ticket. In a Buck versus Bennet election, recent polling has the Republican up by 4, but just last month Daily Kos had Bennet up by 3. Keep in mind, though, that Bennet has not yet begun to spend his treasure troves of money. During Bennet’s first three months in office, he raised a record $1.37 million, a record for a Colorado Senate candidate in an off-year before an election. In addition, both President Obama and Rahm Emmanuel have hosted fundraisers for him, making Bennet very financially stable. Everyone in the state is ready for incredible amounts of money to be thrown around, and if the Democrats are able to rally grassroots support for Bennet, it is very likely that he will win the election. Or so we can only hope.

Next Week: Pennsylvania (Brand-new Dem Arlen Spector goes for reelection! Will either side actually vote for him?)

I don’t always get political, but when I do I prefer the Democrats. Stay liberal my friends.