Voters (not columnists) will decide the winners and losers of Election 2006, but before they do, let’s ponder the best and worst of the campaign season and bestow a few honors for the mantle.
Best race: Perhaps because few people are paying attention to the race, the battle for state Attorney General has been a refreshingly positive affair. John Suthers and Fern O’Brien have tried to rise above the din of negative campaigns. Suthers’ television ads talk about his accomplishments, rather than tear down his opponent, as do O’Brien’s radio spots.
Worst race: Rep. Marilyn Musgrave may have been spared those pink dress ads this year, but the fur that’s been flying from all sides of her 4th Congressional District race with Angie Paccione has turned it into an ugly affair.
Best timing: Jay Fawcett. Democrats normally run as place-holders in the 5th Congressional District, but with an open seat, a supposed blue tidal wave coming, and serious dissention in the GOP ranks in Colorado Springs, Fawcett couldn’t have timed his run better.
Worst timing: The same week that the FBI announced its investigating into his campaign, Bob Beauprez came out with an ad where he’s staring at the business end of a horse and wearing a black cowboy hat. Ouch.
Best commercial: The President Bush impersonator in the anti- Amendment 43 ads was worth a few chuckles, but Rick O’Donnell‘s ad introducing himself to voters (including embarrassing teenage photos and old family movies) was high quality and very effective.
Best ads no one saw: University of Colorado regent at-large candidate Stephen Ludwig produced some irreverent, funny ads for his website that never made it to TV.
Worst commercial: Does it get any worse than the cheese grater- as-toilet-paper ad by opponents of Amendment 42, which would hike the minimum wage? Turns out, it does. The same group cut an ad featuring Moses asking God to stop 42. Apparently Jesus himself wasn’t available to make an offensive ad?
Best deflection: Bill Ritter saw Beauprez’s ad on “agriculture land trespassing” plea bargains morph into a criminal investigation of a GOP supporter who apparently accessed a federal database.
Best campaign rally: Ed Perlmutter stumping with Sen. Barack Obama. Obama received rock-star treatment from curious hordes who gathered to hear him speak while the media gushed over the one-term senator – earning Perlmutter loads of free media.
Worst campaign rally: The pro- Amendment 44 folks shouting down Gov. Bill Owens, Attorney General John Suthers and others as they tried to denounce the proposal to make it legal to possess an ounce of marijuana in Colorado. Apparently pot doesn’t make you mellow.
The Do As I Say, Not As I Do Award: Alert letter-writer Michael Theis of Pueblo noticed that “Amendment 38 would limit initiative ballot titles to 75 words. Yet it contains over 110 words in the title.”
Frequent Flier Award: President Bush. His name isn’t on the ballot, but he’s made at least four trips to Colorado this year to keep this purple state from turning solid Democrat blue. In 2000, when he was on the ballot, he made only two visits to the then-red state that was comfortably in his corner.
Up-and-Comers Award: Both parties offered several candidates this year who should keep public service in mind in the future should they lose tomorrow, including Republicans Affie Ellis and Brian Davidson and Democrats Dan Gibbs and Jayson Haberkorn.
Polls open Tuesday
Early voting is over, so Tuesday is your only chance left to vote. Questions about voting? Contact your county clerk and recorder’s office. A list of numbers can be found at www.elections.colorado.gov. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
For last-minute information, check out The Post’s online voter’s guide at denverpost.com/votersguide.
Dan Haley (dhaley@ denverpost.com) is a member of The Post’s editorial board. Check out the Haley’s Comment blog at denverpostbloghouse.com/haley for live election-night posts.
