COLORADO: Battle of Party Switchers?

Political State Report ^ | 19 Jun 2003 | by Luis

[Amish]

CO: Battle of Party Switchers? As Ben Nighthorse Campbell inches closer to announcing his bid for re-election to the US Senate in 2004, and as Democrats wait for Denver Mayor Wellington Webb to announce in August whether he will run, attention is turning to other possible Democratic challengers. This article identifies two second-tier potential challengers -- Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter and University of Colorado Regent Jim Martin. Either or both may defer to a higher profile Democrat, such as Webb or Attorney General Ken Salazar.

Ritter's a rarity -- a Democrat who favors abortion restrictions. He's living in the wrong state. Colorado was one of the first states to legalize abortion and is still home to a noticeable number of pro-choice Republicans -- including Campbell, whose come-from-behind win in his first Senate race, as a Democrat in 1992, was fueled by last-minute TV ads about the horrors of back alley abortions. The term limited Ritter would lose the nomination to just about any pro-choice Dem and is likely trying to build a little statewide name recognition so he can run for attorney general when Ken Salazar's term ends in 2006.

Martin is a more interesting potential challenger. Until March of this year, this University of Colorado Regent elected from Boulder was a Republican. (Regents run in each US congressional district; Martin was elected to represent the heavily Democratic 2nd District.) He had this to say about his switch to the Democratic Party:

I would have voted for the [McCain-Feingold] Campaign Finance Act; Ben didn't. I wouldn't have voted to confirm John Ashcroft as attorney general; Ben did. And I wouldn't have voted for the Patriot Act; Ben did. That libertarianish rationale for the party switch could play well in Colorado. A Martin campaign would provide many opportunities for the Democrats to highlight how the two parties have changed since Campbell's Gingrich-era party switch -- a change highlighted by Campbell's recent vote to raise the national debt ceiling. His stated reason for leaving the Democratic Party was its opposition to a balanced budget constitutional amendment. The disconnect between Campbell's stated reasons for the party switch and his party-line votes now is another area of potential vulnerability in his re-election campaign.

[Impy]

Campbell will win easily.

[Clintonfatigued]

Such a race could be interesting, but not especially competitive. Pro-choice, ex-Democrat Ben Campbell will win with little trouble. Denver D.A. Ritter might be able to pick up some conservative and Catholic voters, but not enough to put Campbell in any real danger.