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Monday, June 9, 2008
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Here's a look at Colorado and the western U.S. and how things are shaping up for the presidential election, from The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. From the article:
The recent Democratic surge in Colorado and other Western states has left presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama wondering whether the region will swing their way come November. Colorado and several of its neighbors are part of what could be a fundamental realignment of the formerly reliably Republican Rocky Mountain West. With Democrats ascendant in states across the region -- from Montana to Arizona -- Obama's campaign team already has made painting the West blue part of his campaign strategy. "We want to send a message now that we are going to go after them, and I expect to win them," Obama told a New Mexico crowd on Memorial Day. McCain, too, has made the West a priority, citing his experience on western issues during a recent Associated Press interview: "I believe as a Western senator I understand the issues, the challenges of the future for these ... states, whether it be land, water, Native American issues, preservation, environmental issues."
Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico seem the most likely candidates to realign this year. All three of the states voted for President George W. Bush in 2004 by margins of 5 percentage points or fewer. All three of the states also elected Democratic state and federal leaders in recent elections, including New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, despite their histories as red states. Colorado has trended Democratic starting, most noticeably, in 2004, when Democratic state Rep. John Salazar captured former Republican Congressman Scott McInnis' seat, and Attorney General Ken Salazar took the state's open Senate seat. The trend continued in 2006 with former Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter succeeding outgoing Republican Gov. Bill Owens and former state Rep. Ed Perlmutter taking outgoing Republican Congressman Bob Beauprez's seat. Other states in the region have seen similar trends, including the rise of Democratic governors in Wyoming, Montana and Arizona, although their roles as swing states are less sure...
Obama's enthusiasm, particularly in Colorado, could be blunted by several factors, including a ballot measure concerning the polarizing issue of abortion. Expect Amendment 48, which would define life as starting at conception, to bring out conservatives in droves, possibly spoiling the electorate's recent Democratic tendencies. Also, a scandal on either side of Colorado's open Senate race between Republican Bob Schaffer and Democrat Mark Udall could sully the party's brand. The same could happen in state or federal races in Nevada and New Mexico.
Category: 2008 Presidential Election
6:10:08 AM 
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© Copyright 2008 John Orr.
Last update: 7/3/08; 5:59:07 PM.
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