Colorado Springs Democrat John Morse nixed a run for Congress on Thursday, saying if he were going to compete he would have to resign from the state Senate and move to the Aurora-based district.
Morse’s comment set off a round of speculation on whether he was trying to send a message to Senate President Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, who also is considering running in the district, although he currently is a candidate in the 4th District.
Not at all, said Morse, the Senate majority leader.
“That’s my thought process,” he said. “The reality is, to run I would need to quit my Senate seat, move into CD 6 and work 12 to 14 hours a day until November. I’m willing to do it, but my heart is here in the Senate.”
Democratic political consultant Steve Welchert said Morse was doing more than hinting.
“I don’t think it was particularly subtle nor was it particularly wrong,” Welchert said. “I think it was brutally honest. The primary is now in June, not August, and that changes everything.”
The 6th District, once a GOP haven, was redrawn last year and now is split evenly among Republicans, Democrats and unaffiliated voters. Observers say that in the right climate and with the right candidate, Democrats could take out U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman of Aurora, a Republican who is seeking a third term.
The Denver Post reported this week that Shaffer and Morse were considering a run in the 6th District although two other Democrats already have announced: state Rep. Joe Miklosi, D-Denver, and physician Perry Haney of Greenwood Village.
Miklosi also has said he plans to keep his legislative seat. His backers have pointed out that two Republican lawmakers — Scot Tipton of Cortez and Cory Gardner of Yuma — in 2010 ran for Congress while serving in the state legislature.
Shaffer last year kicked off his campaign to unseat U.S. Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Yuma, but a new congressional map drawn by Shaffer’s own party in October made the seat even more Republican.
Lynn Bartels: 303-954-5327 or lbartels@denverpost.com
