DEMOCRATIC U.S. SENATE PRIMARY
Andrew Romanoff vs. Michael Bennet
National eyes will be on this race to see whether Bennet joins Bob Bennett, R-Utah, and Arlen Specter, D-Pa., as the third sitting senator to lose a primary or whether Romanoff’s upstart campaign will come up short against the candidate picked by Gov. Bill Ritter and backed by the White House.
REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR PRIMARY
Dan Maes vs. Scott McInnis
The center ring of Colorado’s three-ring primary political circus once seemed like a one- sided contest but has become a toss-up overshadowed by Tom Tancredo’s third-party run and the possibility that the GOP might still try to force the winner out in favor of an appointee to represent the party in the general election.
REPUBLICAN U.S. SENATE PRIMARY
Ken Buck vs. Jane Norton
Buck refused to be bullied out and built an early lead as a Tea Party favorite, but Norton overcame “establishment” angst and surged back into contention — if you’ll pardon the puns — on the heels of Buck’s “dumba–” comments.
REPUBLICAN TREASURER PRIMARY
JJ Ament vs. Walker Stapleton
Ament drew even in the polls while Stapleton missed many joint candidate appearances in the closing weeks of the contest.
TURNOUT (and El Paso and Weld)
Politicos are still trying to sort out the best way to maneuver the campaign waters given that voters in 46 of 64 counties received ballots three weeks ago. Just what role, if any, late gaffes or attacks played won’t be known until tonight, if at all.
Complicating matters, particularly in closely contested GOP races, is that Weld and El Paso counties opted for election-day polling places, meaning votes may be counted late into the night.
10 questions
After tonight, these issues may become clear:
1.
Recent polling suggested that Andrew Romanoff, Ken Buck and Dan Maes were within striking distance of their “establishment” opponents. Will the national anti-establishment tide sweep over the state’s most closely watched contests?
2.
Given his high-profile support for Michael Bennet, what power does President Barack Obama have — even among Democratic primary voters — to influence races nationally and in a state considered key to his 2008 election?
3.
What effect will the Tea Party movement have in the Republican primary, and in which counties is it most, or least, apparent?
4.
Did Maes’ comments that Denver’s bicycle-sharing program is part of a United Nations effort that could “threaten our personal freedoms” harm him?
5.
Did the damage from plagiarism allegations scuttle Scott McInnis’ bid for governor?
6.
How many Republicans will vote in the party’s Senate primary but choose “none of the above” by not voting in the governor’s race?
7.
Do primary winners start with zero money in the bank for the general election? Does anyone have a fundraising advantage moving toward November?
8.
What wins out in the down-ticket Republican primary for state treasurer: a well-financed radio and television campaign or pumping the local party faithful for support?
9.
In the 7th Congressional District Republican primary, can Aurora City Councilman Ryan Frazier hold off Lang Sias, who has the support of Arizona Sen. John McCain but lives just outside the district and hasn’t voted since 2000?
10.
How did Colorado’s largest- ever test of mail balloting in a primary work out?
This story has been corrected in this online archive. Originally, due to an editing error, Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter’s name was misspelled.
