Democrat John Salazar hasn’t fought this hard to get elected to Congress since he first ran in 2004.
But with some — but not all — polls showing the 3rd District congressman trailing Republican challenger Scott Tipton, Salazar clearly is beefing up his campaign.
Tara Trujillo, a spokeswoman for U.S. Sen. Mark Udall, is on leave and serving as campaign spokeswoman for Salazar. She began Saturday at the Club 20 debate between the two candidates.
“We all know that this is not going to be an easy year for Democrats, but John Salazar has always worked hard for the people of the 3rd Congressional District and he does not take his voters for granted,” she said.
In addition, political consultant Mike Stratton is advising the campaign.
Likewise, Tipton last month hired a campaign manager who has experience overseeing congressional candidates. Sean Walsh most recently worked for Lang Sias, who lost the GOP primary in the 7th District.
Salazar, a Manassa farmer, defeated Tipton, a Cortez businessman, 62 percent to 37 percent in 2006.
The mood of voters has changed since then, and The Washington Post has picked the Salazar-Tipton matchup as one of five House races to watch nationally.
The Post noted that Sen. John McCain carried the Western Slope seat by 2 percentage points in the 2008 presidential election, which puts Tipton in a position to “pull off an upset.”
And The Cook Political Report this month changed the race from “leans Democrat” to “toss up,” saying “trustworthy internal polls spell trouble for Salazar.”
“It’s evident everywhere you look — the polls, the pundits, the grassroots enthusiasm — that the voters of this district have had enough of John Salazar’s allegiance to the national Democrat agenda,” Walsh said.
Lynn Bartels: 303-954-5327 or lbartels@denverpost.com
