Republican Bob Beauprez and Democrat John Hickenlooper are running for Colorado governor. (Denver Post, Boulder Daily Camera file)
The two candidates for Colorado governor will face off in their second formal debate Tuesday at The Denver Post.
It comes just as Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper and Republican challenger Bob Beauprez begin to hit campaign hyperspeed days from October, when ballots begin to arrive in voters mailboxes and the television ads spin out of control.
The race is one of the most closely watched in the nation and . The 6 p.m. debate is sold out but you can watch the live stream at www.denverpost.com/debates (link will be active Tuesday).
Here are three things to watch in the Hickenlooper-Beauprez debate:
1. The tone. in Grand Junction at the Club 20 event saw the affable Hickenlooper take a strident tone as Beauprez blasted him with criticism. Will the jabs get even sharper?
2. Personality versus substance. Hickenlooper is trying to win on personality politics again, but with a four-year record in the governor’s office. Beauprez continues to question the Democrat’s leadership and Hickenlooper is looking .
3. Senate spillover. The U.S. Senate race is focused on women and the issues of abortion and birth control are . It is likely to put Beauprez on the defensive. How will he walk the fine line of opposing the state’s so-called personhood amendment while still supporting a legal protections for unborn children in the U.S. Constitutional, which obviously would apply in Colorado.
