Democrats are bucking their image and organizing to further the recent gains seen here in the west, according to the Denver Post. From the article, "A group of the West's most influential Democrats is creating a new organization to try to capitalize on the party's recent success in the Rocky Mountain states and deliver the region's electoral votes to the Democratic ticket in 2008. The New West Project, headquartered in Denver, will conduct research and develop strategies to secure and exploit recent Democratic gains in the Western states, party sources said. At least four Western governors - Janet Napolitano of Arizona, Bill Richardson of New Mexico, Brian Schweitzer of Montana and Bill Ritter, Colorado's governor-elect - are expected to lead the group's advisory council, the sources said. Incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, Sen. Ken Salazar of Colorado and other members of Congress will provide "strategic guidance.' Reid confirmed the creation of the new organization, which he said would 'build upon the leadership of people such as governors Napolitano, Richardson and Schweitzer' and 'work to focus attention on the West.'[...]
"Doug Sosnik, who was a political adviser and White House counselor to President Clinton, is set to be the group's president, and Rep. Alice Madden, the Colorado House majority leader, will serve as vice president. Salazar said the new group would work to 'develop a regional Democratic strategy' that would shift the political spotlight "away from the coasts" and to the interior West. 'A few years ago, there was a sense that Democrats had been buried forever and that Republican domination in those states would characterize the first quarter of the new century,' Salazar said. 'We have succeeded in reversing those trends. We now have governors in five of the eight (mountain) states and have elected a U.S. senator in Montana ... and Colorado.' Reid spoke of how political analysts focused on Ohio's role in the 2004 election, where a switch of about 60,000 votes would have delivered the state's 20 electoral votes - and the White House - to the Democrats. But that same small swing of 60,000 out West, Reid said, would have won Democratic candidate Sen. John Kerry the 19 electoral votes of Nevada, Colorado and New Mexico, and the presidency. The Rocky Mountain region, Reid said, has been 'simply ignored in the past' by national Democrats. Recent gains by Democrats in Colorado, Arizona, Montana and other mountain states have demonstrated that Westerners "are not bound and determined to vote red (Republican) anymore.' In addition to promoting Western opportunities within the Democratic Party, sources said, the new organization will conduct polling research, analyze data from recent elections and stage conferences where prospective candidates, political scientists and other analysts can discuss the West and the Western electorate."
Category: 2008 Presidential Election
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