U.S. Senate

•The Denver Post’s Allison Sherry points to the Denver suburbs–the “soccer moms” and “patio men”–present perhaps the key battleground in the U.S. Senate race in Colorado between Ken Buck and Sen. Michael Bennet.

CO-1

•In a year when the economy and jobs are the biggest concern for American voters, Rep. Diana DeGette and Democrats have turned to stem-cell research as a potential wedge issue to fend off a Tea Party-backed surge:

“The fact that people are running against these hard-right Tea Party candidates really will help them because the vast majority of Americans are for stem-cell research,” said DeGette, a longtime champion of the research who has seen legislation she’s written on the issue pass twice only to be vetoed by then-President George W. Bush. [emphasis added]

CO-3

•Scott Tipton has released his newest ad, targeting Rep. John Salazar’s record in Washington on the stimulus, earmarks, and national debt. The ad ties Salazar explicitly to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (she looms ominously in the background)–”What are you doing?”

•Tipton’s former primary opponent Bob McConnell, who was endorsed by Sarah Palin, has called for his supporters to help the nominee:

CO-5

•Rep. Mike Coffman responds to Sen. Harry Reid’s decision to include the DREAM Act in a defense bill:

“Defense Authorization bills should not be hijacked and used to advance a radical liberal social agenda. As a Marine Corps combat veteran and member of the House Armed Services Committee I believe this would be an egregious disservice to our servicemen and women. We should supply those who risk their lives for our country with the resources they need without conditions and without using them to accomplish other controversial legislative goals.”

Governor

•Dan Maes to Associated Press–reporting on a gambling ring in Liberal, KS, led to dismissal from police force.

•Re-Cycled: Maes has brought on George Culpepper as the campaign manager for the final stretch, making this the third GOP gubernatorial campaign he’s helmed in this cycle alone.

•Colorado’s GOP leadership is split on the issue of expressing support for candidates other than Republicans (in this case, Tom Tancredo over Maes in the governor’s race) by party officials.