Lakewood – The Jefferson County Democratic Party darn near ran out of flapjacks at its monthly pancake breakfast.
Despite the name, the 150 people in attendance Dec. 10 – about triple the norm – didn’t show up for the food alone. They were there to listen to the three Democratic candidates for Colorado’s 7th Congressional District.
“There’s just a lot of interest in the 7th Congressional District,” said Jefferson County Democrats first vice chairwoman Judi Butz. “As there should be.”
With the 2005 elections over, candidates and voters have turned their attention to the 2006 vote, in which the 7th is shaping up to be one of the most competitive races in the country.
The five candidates for the 7th – three Democrats and two Republicans – have been hustling to gather support, recruit volunteers, raise money, hire staff, open headquarters, pick up endorsements and generally do everything they can to get ahead before the race really begins.
“This is building the foundation,” said Democratic candidate Herb Rubenstein, who is an adjunct professor at Colorado State University and an author. “We’re getting a lot of volunteers. … The next couple months are important.”
The coming election season is expected to bring national political attention rarely seen in Colorado. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report places the Colorado 7th among the nine most competitive House races in the nation. Chris Cillizza, who writes the political insider The Fix blog on Washingtonpost.com, ranks it at No. 1.
Already, political big-wigs have taken note.
U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Dennis Hastert and Vice President Dick Cheney have flown to Colorado to raise money for GOP candidate Rick O’Donnell. More high-profile visits and out-of-state money are on the horizon, politicos say.
“The bottom line is there are very few open seats right now nationally,” said Amy Walter, a senior editor at the Cook Political Report. “And there are very few districts that on paper are as competitive as the 7th.”
Since incumbent Bob Beauprez announced he would run for governor, his departure has had Democrats salivating at the chance to grab the seat and has many people expecting a battle.
That explains why so many turned out at 9 a.m. on a Saturday morning to eat pancakes in Lakewood. The three candidates – Rubenstein, former state Rep. Peggy Lamm and former state Sen. Ed Perlmutter – answered audience questions, interweaving biography and platform into their answers. All championed the need for change in Washington.
“The mantra around our campaign is we think the nation as a whole, and the 7th Congressional District, wants a change,” Perlmutter said a couple of days earlier. “And change begins in the 7th Congressional District.”
Both Perlmutter and Lamm, like Rubenstein, said they have been busy getting their organizations together and fundraising. Both have already raised hundreds of thousands of dollars.
On the Republican side, the campaigning has been just as active. Rick O’Donnell has raised more than $400,000, the most of any of the candidates, according to his last filing. The top-raising Democrats, Perlmutter and Lamm, have brought in more than $300,000 and close to $200,000, respectively, according to their most recent filings.
O’Donnell, the executive director of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, said he is working a lot on campaign infrastructure right now and will start doing more public campaigning in 2006.
“Once we get into election year, I think we’ll see the campaigning step up,” he said.
Meanwhile, Jefferson County Treasurer Mark Paschall has announced a challenge to O’Donnell and said he is busy meeting with people in an effort to drum up grassroots support.
“If I have my pulse on the 7th District, I believe they are more mavericks, like me,” he said.
The first major event of the campaign comes March 21: the precinct caucuses. That is followed by the county assemblies, where it will be decided if candidates have enough support to advance to a primary. After the primaries, on Aug. 8, it’s a three-month fight to the finish.
“It’s going to be an exciting race on both sides,” said Cal Johnston, the chairman of the Jefferson County Democrats. “In the primary and the general election, it’s going to be very competitive.”
Staff writer John Ingold can be reached at 720-929-0898 or jingold@denverpost.com.
