With Labor Day come and gone, the 2006 election campaign is approaching full roar. The calendar shows 60 days to the November voting in a year when the races in Colorado and across the nation are unusually dramatic.
With GOP Gov. Bill Owens retiring after two terms and the Democrats nursing a narrow majority in the General Assembly, the Colorado ballot is a full one. A crowded slate of social initiatives provides fodder for plenty of water-cooler debates.
National issues will be played out in congressional races where Republicans face a challenging environment. Voters, unhappy with Iraq policy, congressional scandals and bulging federal deficits seem to be teeing up for a change.
We might as well brace for the madness – a cascade of negative ads and political shenanigans of all types. (We would blush to describe the negative politics we have seen today alone.)
The congressional battlefield has been widening before our eyes. The number of GOP House seats thought to be vulnerable was roughly 20 at the start of the summer. Now it has more than doubled. Democrats need a 15-seat takeaway to earn control.
Here at home, Republican Rep. Marilyn Musgrave faces a challenge from state Rep. Angie Paccione, while a torrent of donations are funding the campaigns to succeed U.S. Rep. Bob Beauprez. Rick O’Donnell carries the Republican pedigree – he is the beneficiary already of campaign visits by President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, among others.
The Democratic candidate, Ed Perlmutter, a former state senator fond of boasting that his support is homegrown. The race is among the most competitive in the nation, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has reserved $2.2 million for commercials, largely for Perlmutter.
Bill Ritter, a moderate pro-life Democrat, is bidding to succeed Gov. Owens. Owens encouraged Beauprez to give up a choice seat on the House Ways and Means Committee to make the race. Beauprez survived a nomination fight, but not before GOP opponents tagged him with the moniker “Both Ways Bob” to suggest his political moorings were in doubt.
Beauprez’s Labor Day weekend campaign kickoff was a mild one, relaxing at Beaver Creek before attending a holiday parade in Louisville. That left the headlines to Ritter, who got himself entangled in the issue of gay marriage, first saying he’d consider changing the state law that defines marriage before clarifying that he believes marriage is between a man and a woman, as the law stipulates. Both candidates are married to women, so there’s no daylight between them so far as that goes. Ritter spent the weekend campaigning in several counties before attending a rally in Leadville.
Democrats are hoping to expand their ranks in the state legislature where they hold a one-seat majority in the Senate and a five-seat majority in the House. Republicans believe they can reverse the tide with fierce efforts in several key districts.
One of the grim fascinations of recent state politics is to see these competitive legislative races drawing significant funds from donors and special interests.
Nationally, the hot issues look to be Iraq and immigration. But voters are also unhappy about congressional scandals and stagnant family income. One recent poll found that independent voters – the apple of every candidate’s eye – are restless about their economic circumstances, fearful of high fuel prices, flat wages and rising interest rates. Indeed, the economy, more than the war in Iraq or national security, could be first in the minds of a majority of voters as they enter the voting booth.
There are two months before Nov. 7, but the next 30 days are critical. Why 30 days? Colorado absentee ballots are sent out the week of Oct. 9, and early voting begins Oct. 23. Right around the corner. If you’re eligible to vote but not yet registered, let this be a reminder!
