Free Republic

Ken Buck, the district attorney for sprawling Weld County in north central Colorado, may be on the verge of doing to former Lt. Gov. Jane Norton what Sharron Angle did to Sue Lowden in Nevada by riding a conservative-activist, Tea Party movement-fueled campaign to an upset victory in the state's GOP Senate primary, according to a Denver Post/News9 poll conducted June 15-17. Buck leads Norton, the "establishment" candidate supported by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, by 53 percent to 37 percent with 10 percent undecided. Buck has the backing of South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint's Senate Conservatives Fund. Buck's TV...

LOVELAND — Like the phoenix that rises again, Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck resurrected his Republican U.S. Senate campaign from the brink of death in September to win the nomination at the state GOP assembly on May 22 at the Budweiser Event Center in Loveland. Buck, who billed himself as a political outsider railed against Washington, D.C. powerbrokers — including Republicans — at “tea party” rallies and GOP events, gained traction and captured 77 percent of the delegate vote and secured top line on the primary ballot.

Looks like Ken Buck owes Sarah Palin an apology. Her visit to Denver this Saturday night can’t possibly be spun as rude. Rather, it’s serendipitous. Discussions for renting the Magness Arena at the University of Denver began in November and the date chosen was more dependent on Palin’s busy schedule than on a desire to hold it on any particular date. [...] Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck said he thought it would be “rude” for Palin to steal all the media attention away from what he expects to be his taking the GOP nomination on Saturday. It struck me...

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - Conservative favorite Sarah Palin is headed to Colorado - but one Republican isn't happy about her timing. Republican Senate candidate Ken Buck said Monday that it's "rude" for the former Alaska governor to headline a Denver speech on Saturday, hours after the state GOP gathers for a statewide assembly in Loveland, about 50 miles from Denver. Last week, Palin included Buck's rival in positive comments to an anti-abortion group. Palin called former Lt. Gov. Jane Norton and other conservative women "pink elephants" who would succeed in office. Buck and Norton are both seeking the Republican...

All three top GOP Senate candidates continue to lead the two Democrats in the field, but it's the insurgent, Ken Buck, who has taken the biggest leap forward in this month's Rasmussen Reports poll. In his strongest showing to date, Buck has a 48-41 percent lead over incumbent Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet, and he leads former House Speaker Andrew Romanoff by a 45-40 percent margin, according to the new poll released Wednesday. Buck's lead over Bennet is identical to former Lieutenant Governor Jane Norton's, who also has a seven-point, 48-41 lead over Bennet, and a 46-41 percent lead over Romanoff....

South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint endorsed Tea Party powered Colorado Senate candidate Ken Buck Wednesday, comparing his brisk rise to Marco Rubio’s insurgent campaign in Florida. “I haven’t seen anything like what’s happening in Colorado since Marco Rubio in Florida. I’m very honored to have the privilege to endorse Ken Buck today,” DeMint said in a conference call with reporters. POLITICO first reported DeMint’s plan to back Buck Tuesday, when former lieutenant governor Jane Norton announced she would skip the GOP state assembly next month and instead petition her way onto the August primary ballot. DeMint explained that after watching...

A prosecutor looking for illegal immigrants seized thousands of confidential tax records from an income tax preparer popular with Hispanics in this northern Colorado city. The October seizures led to identity-theft and criminal-impersonation charges against more than 70 people, and prosecutors allege that as many as 1,300 suspected illegal immigrants were working using false or stolen Social Security numbers. But the American Civil Liberties Union said the documents of as many as 4,900 people were seized, many of them legal residents, and that the probe was the "equivalent of a house-by-house search of innocent homeowners in order to find a...

Battle Continues Over Greeley DA And Tax Preparer. Immigrant advocates say they've seen nothing like it before or since: A prosecutor looking for illegal immigrants seized thousands of confidential tax records from an income tax preparer popular with Hispanics in this northern Colorado city. The October seizures led to identity theft and criminal impersonation charges against more than 70 people, and prosecutors allege that as many as 1,300 suspected illegal immigrants were working using false or stolen Social Security numbers. The investigation started after a Texas man alerted Weld County authorities that his identity was being used. The suspect in...

Weld District Attorney Ken Buck said Tuesday that he’s leaning toward running for Senate in 2010 against Senate appointee Michael Bennet. However, Buck said he has ruled out running for other offices while on his listening tour around the state. Buck said he likely will file paperwork to run for the Senate seat in April and then will announce his candidacy. He declined to give a date for his announcement. Bennet, a Democrat, was appointed by Gov. Bill Ritter to the Senate after Ken Salazar left his seat to take a position in President Barack Obama’s cabinet. Buck, a Republican,...