Posted on 03/10/2004 1:22:41 PM PST by BlackRazor
Salazar will run for Senate By Karen E. Crummy Denver Post Staff Writer
Thursday, March 11, 2004 -
Colorado Attorney General Ken Salazar will announce his candidacy for U.S. Senate today, The Denver Post has learned.
Salazar will declare his intention to run for the seat being vacated by Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell at a 3 p.m. news conference today, according to his campaign organizer, Mike Stratton.
Salazar will be endorsed by fellow Democrat Rutt Bridges, who earlier declared himself a candidate for the Senate but is expected to drop out of the race, Stratton said.
Former Gov. Roy Romer and former Lt. Gov. Gail Schoettler, along with current Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper and former Mayor Wellington Webb, also are expected to endorse Salazar.
The announcement would alter the race for the Senate seat that Campbell said last week he would vacate at the end of his term.
U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, of Eldorado Springs, said Tuesday that he also would seek the Democratic nomination.
"I'm in," Udall said. "It became clear to me today that I'm keen to go to the Senate and represent Colorado families and Colorado values."
Udall's decision followed Tuesday's announcement by Gov. Bill Owens that he would not seek the Republican nomination for Senate. That opened up the field to a number of other potential candidates, including several from the state's House delegation.
Under state law, Salazar does not have to relinquish his position as attorney general while campaigning. But with two years of Salazar's term left, Owens could appoint a Republican to his seat if he wins.
Already in the race are lesser-known Democrats Liz Baker and Larry Johnson of Boulder, Mike Miles of Colorado Springs and Brad Freedberg of Denver.
Republican Dan O'Bryant of Colorado Springs is already running, and Daniel James Barnett of Denver has filed to run as a Christian Party candidate.
Along with Owens, fellow Republican U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave passed on a run, while former Colorado congressman Bob Schaffer said he intends to seek the Senate seat. Republican U.S. Rep. Scott McInnis, who is leaving the House, said he is still considering a run, while Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo also said he will announce a decision.
Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette said she will not run for the Senate, citing the needs of her young family.
Owens, considered the state's highest-profile Republican, cited family matters and the needs of the state in announcing his intention not to run Tuesday.
"As I looked at what I actually have to do as governor, to add that burden on top of it would have been a race that I simply wouldn't have enjoyed," he said.
Owens also said he had encouraged Republican U.S. Rep. Bob Beauprez to run for the seat. The freshman congressman from Arvada, who won the new 7th Congressional District seat by 121 votes in 2002, said he was still deciding whether to enter the race.
The open seat will boost Colorado's political profile this year, attracting money and attention as Republicans seek to hold their 51-48 voting edge - with one Independent - and Democrats seek to regain the chamber.
"I think this will be a real horse race," said pollster Paul Talmey. "You're going to see a ton of money flowing into this state. This race could change the majority in the Senate."
Owens' blessing has suddenly vaulted Beauprez to a key position for money and name recognition.
However, Don Bain, who was Republican Party chairman from 1993 through 1997, said President Bush and his advisers will probably have more to say than the governor. "The behind-the-scenes player is likely to be the White House," he said. "They want a candidate who would preserve the majority. That is what it is about."
Bain said Beauprez, who is scheduled to appear at a fundraiser with Vice President Dick Cheney later this month, would be a strong candidate, but he worries that the first-term congressman's open seat would be tough to win without an incumbent.
"The big downside is it opens up that 7th District and puts it at great risk," he said.
That's why the National Republican Congressional Committee does not appear to want Beauprez - who raised more than $1 million for his re-election campaign - to leave the House after only one term.
"We would love Congressman Beauprez to stay in the House. We would hate to lose him," said Chris Paulitz, spokesman for the committee.
Paulitz also said that if the House seat should open up, the GOP "plans on keeping it in Republican hands."
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Well, I think the CO race became a lot more interesting with Campbell's withdrawal. But in a GOP-trending state with President Bush at the top of the ticket, I'd have to rate the Dems the underdogs. Obviously that could change as the final candidates materialize.
I don't live in the area, so I only know what I read about the candidates. But based on that, it sounds like McInnis would be the best among those who seem to have some interest in running. I'm sure Beauprez would make a good Senator, but I think he's too risky a pick at this point. Is that your sense as well? Who is your personal preference between McInnis and Coffman (assuming the latter was interested, and disregarding the possibility he might run for Governor?)
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