CO-Sen: Hickenlooper Stronger Than John Salazar in New Poll

This is pretty interesting: Public Policy Polling takes a look at two potential Senate appointees, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper and 3rd CD Rep. John Salazar, and finds that Hickenlooper would start in a stronger position against two potential GOP foes (12/16-17, registered voters):

John Hickenlooper (D): 54

Bill Owens (R): 40

John Hickenlooper (D): 54

Tom Tancredo (R): 37

John Salazar (D): 52

Bill Owens (R): 43

John Salazar (D): 53

Tom Tancredo (R): 40

(MoE: ±3.7%)

In other state news, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter just named ex-state Rep. Bernie Buescher as the state’s new SoS, meaning that outgoing state House speaker Andrew Romanoff’s is still on the table for the Senate job. Also possibly in the mix: former state Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald, who has contacted Ritter recently to express her interest in the appointment.

52 thoughts on “CO-Sen: Hickenlooper Stronger Than John Salazar in New Poll”

  3. Go Hickenlooper, he would be a vast improvement over Salazar. Also at the same time while getting a good liberal senator, it would prevent making Colorado 3rd an open seat as would be the case if Salazar would get the nomination.

    Who would have thought that Colorado would wind up with some of the best Senators in the country.

    What’s up with Colorado being a buncha Liberals all of sudden?

    First Ritter, then Udall and Obama winning by huge margins, now these poll numbers with a “Denver Liberal”, the Democratic Party in Colorado has been doing a great job.

  4. So she IS running after all! Go, Joan! OK, OK, I’d also be happy with Hickenlooper. He’s a good Democrat.

    And how ’bout that Salazar legacy pick? I guess being a Blue Dog with a famous last name doesn’t automatically make one the best Senate candidate evah? hehe 😉

  5. if he’s down 9% against John Salazar than he’s not going to beat Fitz-Gerald, or Romanoff, or DeGette, or whoever Ritter appoints.

    I knew he had lost a lot of popularity, but to see him just running slightly better than Tom Tancredo…that is truly embarrassing.

    I don’t expect Scott McInnis, who has been out of politics since 2004, to be much of a threat either.

    This one is safe.

  6. They should be polling John Suthers, Josh Penry and Scott McInnis. Tancredo’s a joke outside of CD-6, and Owens is very happy at the University of Denver from what I hear.

  7. Colorado is to Dems and the 2000s and Georgia was to Republicans and the 1990s.

    Assuming there isn’t something wrong with this poll.

  8. I suspect name recognition mostly explains the disparity in the Dem leads and since Tancredo and Owens have that in abundance this might not be as tough a hold as some feared.

  10. I can’t help but feel that he would be able to close the gap and make this a close race.

    I want to say, well he just hasn’t been in office and he’ll be able to get his numbers up as he reminds Colorado what he did as governor.  (This is based off the premise that he was a popular governor that Colorado liked, is that true?)

    On the other hand, people know him, he probably has really high name rec. so if people say they won’t vote for him, there is no reason to believe people will choose to vote for him Nov. 2010.

    But damn, what a blueing.  We should all send thank you cards to Bush.  You fucked the nation and your party into oblivion.

  11. A lot of us in the state have been rooting for him.  I think he’s been a great congressman and would make a great Senator who can win.

    The Durango Herald is endorsing him for the seat.

    With Sen. Ken Salazar’s nomination to be Interior secretary comes a scrambling to fill the Democrat’s Senate seat with a qualified candidate whose appointment will not trigger too much of a political domino effect. That is a complicated task in a politically divided state such as Colorado, but the short list of names apparently under consideration by Gov. Bill Ritter shows the state is not devoid of qualified, palatable replacements for Salazar. The best choice from among three good options, though, is U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter.

    Perlmutter, 55, has long been active in Colorado politics, having served in the State Senate from 1995 to 2003 as the first Democrat elected from his Jefferson County district in 30 years. He was co-chairman of the John Kerry campaign in Colorado in 2004, and was elected to represent the 7th Congressional District in the U.S. House in 2006, succeeding Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez in the swing district outside Denver. He was re-elected with 63 percent of the vote in November.

    Though his appointment to the Senate could throw Perlmutter’s district back into swing status, his experience as a state and federal lawmaker with deep roots in Colorado make him the best choice for the position. Other names mentioned as possibilities include Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper and outgoing Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives Andrew Romanoff. Both men are skilled and accomplished politicians who have much to show for their public service careers, but a Senate appointment is the wrong trajectory for either.

    The rest of this is in the article below.

    http://www.durangoherald.com/s…

    I know this is only my first post here.  I know it’s long.  Sorry.

    Any

  12. Any reason why Ritter didn’t tap Ken Gordon?  He ran for this in 2006 and I believe had a very close race.  If I recall he was a featured candidate on the Sec of State Project site.

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