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The White House confirmed Thursday that an aide had dangled the prospect of a government job in front of another contender for the Senate — prompting Republicans to call for a criminal investigation. Democrats, however, maintained that the administration was guilty of nothing more than good politics. White House officials said the aide discussed a possible federal post last year with Andrew Romanoff, a Senate candidate in Colorado, in a bid to avoid a contentious primary with Democratic incumbent Sen. Michael Bennet.

Well hallelujah! After 8 months of being in a silent lockdown mode on the subject of whether the White House offered the Democrat Senate candidate from Colorado, Andrew Romanoff (photo), a job if he would remove himself from the primary race, the Denver Post has finally gotten around to reporting on it again following their initial September story. By strange "coincidence" the Post's sudden willingness to once again broach this subject happened just hours after their bizarre silence on this topic was pointed out by various blogs on the web including the NewsBusters blog of your humble correspondent yesterday. The...

WASHINGTON — Not long after news leaked last month that Andrew Romanoff was determined to make a Democratic primary run against Sen. Michael Bennet, Romanoff received an unexpected communication from one of the most powerful men in Washington. Jim Messina, President Barack Obama's deputy chief of staff and a storied fixer in the White House political shop, suggested a place for Romanoff might be found in the administration and offered specific suggestions, according to several sources who described the communication to The Denver Post. Romanoff turned down the overture, which included mention of a job at USAID, the foreign aid...

A Democrat candidate running against a Senate incumbent is offered a job by the White House as an incentive to drop out of the primary race. Sounds like the Joe Sestak scandal in which he alleged that someone in the White House offered him a job in order to drop out of the race against the incumbent senator from Pennsylvania, Arlen Specter. Right? Well, yes. However, this also perfectly describes another similar scandal in which it is alleged that the White House offered a job to Andrew Romanoff (photo) in order to drop out of the primary race for the...

U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet has received plenty of attention — and from progressive groups, plenty of praise — for authoring a letter pushing Democratic leaders to save the public option through a parliamentary maneuver known as reconciliation. He mentioned the letter in a missive to supporters citing differences with primary opponent Andrew Romanoff But according to a report this week on the liberal blog TalkingPointsMemo.com (TPM), the idea belonged less to Bennet then to his House colleague, Jared Polis (D-Boulder), who worked out the strategy with a coalition of progressive groups hoping to revive the government-run health insurance option.

The White House has confirmed that President Barack Obama will visit Colorado in February to attend an event with U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet. ... Bennet faces former Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff in the primary. Former Colorado Lt. Gov. Jane Norton and Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck are among at least a half dozen Republican candidates.

I come to you with a matter of unequivocal importance, as it relates to the current health care reform bill currently under deliberation in the United States Senate. It is my understanding that you support the public option for health care reform, or as it states on your website, “Reform must result in every American having access to affordable health coverage and reasonable prescription drug costs.” As a constituent, I urge you with a sincere and fervent passion to oppose this bill. The matter at hand is of very great importance to the preservation of the precious liberties we have...

Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) said Sunday that he will vote for landmark health care reform legislation even if it means he will be defeated at the polls next November. "If you get to the final point and you are a critical vote for health care reform, and every piece of evidence tells you, if you support that bill, you will lose your job, would you cast the vote and lose your job? " CNN's John King asked Bennet on the "State of the Union" program. "Yes," said Bennet, a former Denver public schools chief who was appointed to the Senate...

SNIP"If you get to the final point and you are a critical vote for health care reform and every piece of evidence tells you if you support the bill you will lose your job, would you cast the vote and lose your job?” CNN’s John King asked Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado on Sunday’s State of the Union. “Yes,” Bennet bluntly and simply replied. Bennet was appointed by Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter to replace Sen. Ken Salazar, who stepped down from the Senate to serve as President Obama’s Interior Secretary.SNIPNote from Kristinn:Media Matters excoriated Rush Limbaugh last week for saying...

Senator Michael Bennet finds himself in a toss-up with two potential Republican challengers, Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck and Aurora City Councilman Ryan Frazier. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey finds Bennet ahead of Buck 43% to 37%. With Frazier as the opponent, Bennet is essentially even... Any incumbent who polls less than 50% is considered potentially vulnerable. Polling released earlier showed that the Colorado Governor’s race is also potentially competitive in 2010.

Former state House Speaker Andrew Romanoff is poised to mount a Democratic primary campaign against U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet. Urged to challenge Gov. Bill Ritter as he seeks re-election in 2010, Romanoff has instead turned his attention to next year's Senate race, sources close to Romanoff told The Denver Post. One source reported that Romanoff offered a campaign position to a veteran Democratic strategist. Romanoff could not be reached for comment Friday night, but several people close to him said they expect him to announce next month. Wally Stealey, a longtime lobbyist and political mover in Pueblo, said Romanoff called...

How do you outgun the NRA? Very, very carefully. Mark Pryor knows all about that. The Democratic senator from pro-gun Arkansas was nowhere to be seen on the Senate floor during Wednesday's showdown over a proposal, championed by the National Rifle Association, that would have gutted state gun-control laws across the nation. Toward the end of the vote, Pryor entered the chamber through the back door, took a few steps inside, flashed a thumbs-down to the clerk, and retreated as fast and furtively as somebody dodging gunfire. Several minutes later, the Democrats had racked up more than enough votes to...

Blanche Lincoln, AR 45% Public Policy Polling, March Barbara Boxer, CA 48% Survey USA, June 12-14 Michael Bennet, CO 34% Public Policy Polling, April 24-26 (trails Rep. Beauprez) Christopher Dodd, CO 37% Quinnipiac, April (trails several) Roland Burris, IL 17% Public Policy Polling, April 24-26 (likely to lose primary) Harry Reid, NV 34% Mason-Dixon, June 18-19 Kirsten Gillenbrand, NY 24% Marist (disapproval rating also below 50%) Byron Dorgan, ND (only poll in this red state was commissioned by DailyKOS) Also in possible danger but above 50% approval: Daniel Inouye, HI leads Republican Gov. Linda Lingle, but he'll be 86, and...

Michael Bennet's record U.S. Senate fundraising pace is built on out-of-state donations, Colorado donors concentrated in Denver, and well-heeled associates from his past endeavors in politics and business. It's a tried-and-true formula for neophyte politicians, especially those in swing states defending Senate seats where the price of victory may be more than $10 million. A Denver Post analysis of the $1.4 million the Democrat raised in the first three months of 2009 showed: • Less than half of the $1.1 million he raised from individual contributors came from Colorado. He received more than $100,000 from donors in New York, Washington,...

Weld District Attorney Ken Buck said Tuesday that he’s leaning toward running for Senate in 2010 against Senate appointee Michael Bennet. However, Buck said he has ruled out running for other offices while on his listening tour around the state. Buck said he likely will file paperwork to run for the Senate seat in April and then will announce his candidacy. He declined to give a date for his announcement. Bennet, a Democrat, was appointed by Gov. Bill Ritter to the Senate after Ken Salazar left his seat to take a position in President Barack Obama’s cabinet. Buck, a Republican,...

Gov. Bill Ritter is shattering conventional wisdom in tapping the popular but politically untested Michael Bennet, superintendent of Denver Public Schools, as the U.S. Senate replacement for Interior Secretary nominee Ken Salazar. The surprising move, expected at a state Capitol news conference Saturday, perplexed many political insiders, most of whom considered Bennet the darkhorse candidate in a field crowded with big name, political veterans like Bennet's old boss, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper. To some, the reaction wasn't head-scratching. It was jaw-dropping.

Denver Public Schools superintendent Michael Bennet is expected to be named Saturday as the future U.S. Senate replacement for Interior Secretary nominee Ken Salazar, according to two Democratic sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Gov. Bill Ritter is expected to name his U.S. Senate replacement pick on Saturday, ending a brief but frenzied period of speculation about who will take the seat of Interior Secretary nominee Ken Salazar. The selection would be preliminary, since Salazar is not expected to resign his U.S. Senate seat until sometime after Jan. 15, when he faces a confirmation hearing — and later...