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CO-Gov: Hickenlooper Considering Race, But Will Defer to Salazar; Perlmutter Keeping Options Open

by: James L.

Wed Jan 06, 2010 at 7:39 PM EST


We've made no secret that we're hoping that Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper jumps into the gubernatorial race. In a statement to the media today, Hickenlooper is considering it, but he's giving Interior Secretary and ex-Sen. Ken Salazar the first right of refusal:

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper said this afternoon he would make a relatively quick decision about whether to run for Colorado governor but said that he would consider entering the race only if Ken Salazar didn't. [...]

"Ken Salazar is Ken Salazar. Should Ken Salazar decide to run I'd probably be his first volunteer," the popular Denver mayor said at a downtown press conference, surrounded by his family.

Hickenlooper praised Ritter for his "courage" in announcing earlier in the day that he wanted to devote more time and energy to his family and would abort his run for a second term, declaring that "this is Bill Ritter's day."

Will Salazar actually go for it? Well, there are enough rumblings to suggest that it's a distinct possibility. Salazar's brother, 3rd CD Rep. John Salazar, is on the record with words of encouragement for such a switch, and, for what it's worth, ColoradoPols is hearing that an "official decision is all but done". Salazar is staying mum on the question for now, but the Denver Post reports that he'll have the White House's permission to run if he so chooses.

Meanwhile, 7th CD Rep. Ed Perlmutter, who sounds pretty jacked now that Ritter is off the ballot, is not ruling out the possibility of a gubernatorial bid himself:

"This is a nightmare for the Republican party. This decision is a game changer, and I believe Colorado Democrats have a deep bench of potential candidates who can win this race. I am confident we will have a candidate who will present real solutions for Colorado instead of the Republicans who want to focus on the status quo by just saying no. We will retain this seat and continue to move our state forward and ensure Colorado remains one of the best states to live in.

"I am honored to have my name mentioned as a potential candidate. I love this state and I want to continue to serve my community and state and make it a great place to live for everybody. It's a premature decision to make at this time, but one I will carefully consider."

Hickenlooper is by far my first choice here, but Salazar appears to be salivating over the opportunity. We'll just have to stay tuned.
James L. :: CO-Gov: Hickenlooper Considering Race, But Will Defer to Salazar; Perlmutter Keeping Options Open
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CO-Gov: Hickenlooper Considering Race, But Will Defer to Salazar; Perlmutter Keeping Options Open | 60 comments
CO-07
In the event that Perlmutter throws his hat in the ring, what sort of a Dem bench do we have in his district?

Male, 23, DC-At Large
No more open seats
If at all possible.
[ Parent ]
Yeah
Perlmutter has a decent opponent, Ryan Frazier, who could run a very strong race if it were an open seat.
[ Parent ]
Um, I think Frazier already is being pushed aside......
He's still in it the last I knew, but I think some current or former Gooper state legislator was throwing his hat in the ring, and once again Frazier was looking like "not-the-likely-nominee" just as in the Senate race before he dropped out.

But Perlmutter's district is Democratic, not heavily liberal but definitely Advantage Team Blue in a neutral year.  Perlmutter himself won 55-42 when it became an open seat in 2006.

43, male, Indian-American, Democrat, VA-10

[ Parent ]
Would Salazar sign the labor bills
that DINO Ritter vetoed?  Due to redistricting, I would have even supported Ritter, but I don't think we need any more anti-choice anti-labor nominees from Colorado.
Agreed. We need Hickenlooper NOW, NOW, NOW

[ Parent ]
Um Hickenlooper isn't exactly
strong on labor issues, but he may be like Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania, just nasty in negotiations, but good on labor law issues.
[ Parent ]
Ed Rendell runs his mouth
but at the end of the day he's a good Democrat.  
[ Parent ]
Well he pissed off AFSCME enough
that they endorsed his GOP opponent in 2002.  My impression was that Rendell was just unnecessarily nasty in negotiations with them as Philly mayor.
[ Parent ]
Salazar's been doing an excellent job at Interior
I have no doubt he would be replaced by another highly qualified individual, but it would be good if he stayed put, in my opinion. Of course, he neither knows nor gives a damn what my opinion is. :-)

"I'm not a member of any organized political party, I'm a Democrat!"
--  Will Rogers  
[ Parent ]
Salazar!
Go Salazar!
If Salazar runs, who for Interior Secretary?
I hope it's Raul Grivalja. He was the front runner for a while back in 2008.

Some Dude, 19, Democrat, NH-02 (residence), MA-08 (college)
*Grijalva
sorry

Some Dude, 19, Democrat, NH-02 (residence), MA-08 (college)
[ Parent ]
Salazar
My only concern with him is it may not be a good time to come out of the Obama administration and run for office. Hickenlooper would be great and Perlmutter would be a good candidate, so really I would be happy with any of the three. At this point I just want the most electable (I do not see a big difference between the three governing wise). I would like to hear what people in Colorado think.
I think that concern is a complete non-issue......
Obama is not unpopular, his approvals are split down the middle right now.  He's not Bush.

And serving in a President's Cabinet doesn't rub off completely, it's a mixed bag and really depends on what Department and what you did there as much as anything.

And even more, Salazar has been there less than a year, and was the sitting Senator in what now is Bennet's seat...and THAT'S what Colorado voters will tag him to be, their very recent former Senator, with "Obama Administration official" a sidenote.

No I'm not in Colorado, so I'm not a true authority.  But it doesn't make sense to me that Salazar's current service is the least bit an albatross.

I'm actually happy with the idea of Salazar as the nominee because he has total name rec and is a proven statewide winner.  And make no mistake, he is leaps and bounds more electable than Ritter right now, so we should be celebrating him if he's the one.

43, male, Indian-American, Democrat, VA-10

[ Parent ]
I don't think
it will make Salazar unelectable, but it could ding him enough where Hickenlooper or Perlmutter might be a better candidate. He is still leaps and bounds better (both as a candidate and policywise) than Ritter.
[ Parent ]
What the hell?
   Why is it OK for someone to serve ONE year as a cabinet official and then run for governor?  Do your damned job, Salazar.

24, Male, GA-05
Not far off from what Mike Johanns did
when he ran for Senate.

I really think one year is pushing it, though.  

[ Parent ]
Well
Seems like I read somewhere that Salazar's always wanted to run for Governor. It's not like he knew last year that Ritter would not run for re-election.
[ Parent ]
OK....
  So he doesn't finish his Senate term and then spends two years as Secretary of the Interior?!  These boys obsessed with holding EXECUTIVE office (Boner!) are tiresome.  They are just too leaderly to be one of hundred or manage a boring cabinet-level department.  Yawn.

24, Male, GA-05
[ Parent ]
Just when I thought "washington" was helping
by encouragimng the deadwood to move on, we get this assbackwards stuff about Salazar... where he essentially trades a critical Senate seat for far less valuable Governor seat.  The dumbness of that is staggering... and in doing so it freezes out maybe our best bench guy west of the Mississippi.

Now if Hickenlooper ran for the Senate and Salazar for Governor... THAT I could get behind.

On the other hand, if Salazar can regret a bad move, maybe we can get Sebelius and Napolitano back into the Senate races they should have been in for a year.  If only life was so good.

Napolitano
She wouldn't be strong against McCain. PPP polled it a few months ago. When she left her job, it killed her favorables. I'm sure recent events haven't helped either.  
[ Parent ]
True, she was beating McCain before she left...
... and is losing to him now.  Her political career is likely over, but the point is not so much to come back to run against McCain, but rather to run against Hayworth.

That again is the type of poll that would be useful...
McCain versus Hayworth
Napolitano verus McCain
Napolitano versus Hayworth

I bet Republicans would like to see that poll too, even if she is just standing in for "strong Dem".

[ Parent ]
Political career likely over?
Isn't that a bit strong? Couldn't she come back later?

"I'm not a member of any organized political party, I'm a Democrat!"
--  Will Rogers  
[ Parent ]
Hardly anybody does
and the numbers GOPVOTER refered to partly reflect on that.

2012 is Giffords or someone else's "turn".

Maybe not as much as an ambassador, but the Cabinet is a political graveyard.

[ Parent ]
Here's my take on the senate race
Kerry got 47% in Colorado during 2004 which was a great year for the GOP. Meaning Bennet probably has a floor of around 48% on election night. Michael Bennet being somewhat of centrist vs. Jane Norton attending tea parties and 9/12 events being a little too conservative probably means that Bennet will narrowly carry independents. My guess is that Bennet pulls this out by 3 or 4 points. In addition, the only pollster that has polled Norton vs. Bennet is Rasmussen
Here's the problem
Does John/Jane Doe who does not follow politics closely, y'know the ones that ask 3 weeks from election day if there's an election coming up, do they associate the tea parties as being crazies or extremists?

Or even Glenn Beck? What's his Name ID #s or favorables?

Such is my concern.

26, Male, Democrat, TX-26

[ Parent ]
Trying to identify so many Repubs as teabag crazies is foolish......
Jane Norton is no Doug Hoffman, she is a serious recruited candidate who will plan to run a conventional modern campaign.  She might do it well, she might do it badly, but she's not flying by the seat of her pants hoping a bunch of vitriolic backwoods "Obama is Hitler" sign-wavers will man phonebanks funded by Club for Growth.  And a few minor "thumbs up" comments about the teabaggers or Glenn Beck aren't going to hurt her that much as long as they're mere tangents and she otherwise has a more broadly marketable message.

We can't assume all these hard-right candidates are disorganized teabag crazies.  Some are, but some are very serious and understand and embrace modern campaigns.

43, male, Indian-American, Democrat, VA-10

[ Parent ]
Bingo.
Winner winner, chicken dinner. Perfect explanation on it all.

26, Male, Democrat, TX-26
[ Parent ]
Agreed
I think many of these candidates will have their cake and eat it, too.  Use the tea baggers to win the primary and then run a pretty normal campaign to win the general.  Id love to see Rubio immediately start turning his back to Erik Erickson and crew once he gets past Crist.
[ Parent ]
Hell, Rubio already backpeddled on the stimulus!......
After all the noise attacking Crist for the stimulus and "the hug," the media largely (not completely, or I wouldn't even know this) ignored that Rubio actually backpeddled a little himself on opposing the stimulus, admitting Florida needed the money and he couldn't necessarily have turned it all down were he in Crist's shoes.

I never viewed Rubio as a teabag crazy.  He's a classic example of a serious-intending candidate who just knows how to harness the crazies without being one himself.  I did view him for a long time as a nobody against Crist, not because he was crazy, but simply because he was nothing more than a former state legislative leader who had never run for high office and had zero name recognition.  And his early fundraising and campaign organization were a disaster.  Of course he has gained in prominence since then, a mark of his creativity as a campaigner, and that he came back from such a bad early start only highlights how creative he is on the trail.

I'm still skeptical Rubio will win the nomination.  For all the hype, he's still very clearly trailing Crist, and Crist will dwarf Rubio on the airwaves as the primary gets closer.  Florida is a huge state, and even when pandering just to a primary electorate there are too many voters to rely on fringe right-wingers to carry you to victory; Rubio has to broaden his appeal.

43, male, Indian-American, Democrat, VA-10

[ Parent ]
What's interesting about Ritter
Is that he is on the unpopular governor in Colorado in years. Roy Romer, a democrat, was governor for 12 years, (even survived 1994) and then Bill Owens was extremely popular. Had a better democrat than Bill Ritter been nominated this seat probably would have been in the safe column. Colorado unlike other states (such as New Jersey) doesn't automatically give high disaprovals to their politicians and blame them and whine and bitch every time something is wrong with the economy.
I hear this over and over again
What made Ritter a bad candidate?  Who was he before he was Gov?
[ Parent ]
Denver DA
He is too conservative and anti-union.
[ Parent ]
It would be good if some head-to-heads were run
before Salazar does anything.  If Hickenlooper clearly has a better shot at winning, he should be deferred to, not the other way around.
yes and yes
My sentiments exactly.
[ Parent ]
I definitely agree.
Here's what concerns me: Salazar's last approval rating as Senator was something like 28%, and now he can legitimately have the "quitter" label applied to him because he wandered off mid-term to go join the Cabinet. Of course, as people say, that alone wasn't enough to sink Mike Johanns next door in Nebraska, but the difference is that Johanns comes from the majority party in a much more sympathetic state and was never unpopular to begin with. Compared to the popular mayor of the state's largest city who I get the impression a lot of people even outside of the Dem base would LIKE to see run for higher office, I see no reason why we're waiting on a guy who, if anything, is LESS viable politically.

But then, Rahm's fingerprints are all over this and almost every other Obama administration mess having anything to do with electoral politics, so go figure.

[ Parent ]
Not everything has been a mess
They got Israel to back out of the a primary challenge to Gillibrand, saving tons of DSCC money, New Yorkers money, and not leaving open a seat that would probably be competitive.
[ Parent ]
What's Romanoff said?
Not that I want him as a gubernatorial candidate, but I'd quite like to see him slaughtered in the primary, and replaced by somebody who'd actually seriously test, season and nail down Bennet in the senatorial primary.
Can this get any stupider?
Let's see, Obama created an open seat by appointing Salazar interior secretary.  Ritter appointed a weak replacement in Bennet.  Ritter then decides not to run.  Salazar barely a year into his cabinet now decides he want to run for elective office, this time for governor.  After severely weakening the Dems chances of holding the senate seat by taking the cabinent post in the first.  Now Ed Perlmutter is thinking of creating another vulnerable house seat by taking on Salazar in the primary.  Have I got all that right?  The Democrats in Colorado and D.C. couldn't have screwed things up any worse had they actually set out to screw things up.
I don't think it can
but it probably will.  

Please donate to amcharities.org to help build more after school centers in the Miami area.  

23, Democrat, IA-2

[ Parent ]
Agree
Clusterfuck.
[ Parent ]
If it makes you feel any better
some State Rep or Senator will probably get into the race for Perlmutter's seat and create an opening for the Republicans.  Maybe several.  That would complete the clusterfuck.

34, WM, Democrat, FL-11
[ Parent ]
Calm down
Let's wait for official announcements before we start hyperventilating. These are seasoned, savvy pols we're talking about here, and I think we should have at least a little bit of faith in their judgment.

Male, 23, DC-At Large
[ Parent ]
Many trial balloons are rising
and many will be popped. The popped balloons will be forgotten in a month.

w/r/t Salazar leaving the Senate seat, that's a mistake in the past.

[ Parent ]
Same as most disasters
Many ways to avoid it along the way - Hickenlooper elected governor in 2006, Obama not nominating Salazar to Interior, Ritter picking Hickenlooper etc. Hopefully they can work it all out this time.
[ Parent ]
If this is how savy pols operate
Give me novices.
[ Parent ]
CD-07
is almost lock-down Dem in the State Legislature.  Not that I want to see Perlmutter run...I've met the man repeatedly and he's always, always, disliked me and any other grassroots progressive out here (the man lives in a Capitol echo-chamber), but if he does bail, say hello to Rep. Maryanne "Moe" Keller of Wheat Ridge.  And, frankly, Moe would be a big step up. Two newbie GOP reps. (Ken Summers and Kevin Priola) nibble at the southwest and northeast corners of the district.  Only Summers has any significant number of people in the 7th.  State Sen. Mike Kopp has Ken Caryl Ranch in the southwest, but that's it.

30, male, Democratic, CO-01
[ Parent ]
Rasmussen: Hicklenhooper strongest Dem to take down McInnis
In the absence of an incumbent
Total tossup with either.
[ Parent ]
Morons
They tested John Salazar, not Ken.

Male, 23, DC-At Large
[ Parent ]
Correct here
http://www.rasmussenreports.co...

Who knows which is correct. It wouldn't be the first time they made a blunder of this type but it may just be clerical.

[ Parent ]
The sad thing is, we may never know
Yet the toplines will be yakked about ceaselessly nonetheless.

Male, 23, DC-At Large
[ Parent ]
Research 2000 are polling it
Never take one poll for granted, particularly from this source.
[ Parent ]
Not only that, questions 5 through 7
are about California.  Did Rasmussen actually ask Colorado voters about the California budget?  
[ Parent ]
Well
it is certainly something Assmuffin would do.
[ Parent ]
As I said
The have a long history of errors like that. At least on the website. It doesn't bode well for the accuracy of their phone banking.
[ Parent ]
Salazar (Ken) is out
According to Cillizza.

http://twitter.com/TheFix

Good, Bring On Hickenlooper

[ Parent ]
Yes yes yes!
HICKENLOOPER!  HICKENLOOPER!

He'll probably be announcing next Tuesday then?  (Dont announce on a Friday obviously and Ive always gotten that Monday's are a bit meh to announce stuff as we've all got the Monday blues that day.)

[ Parent ]
CO-Gov: Hickenlooper Considering Race, But Will Defer to Salazar; Perlmutter Keeping Options Open | 60 comments

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