The Denver Post Omits Critical Information in CD-4 Race
Last month, I wrote an blog post in response to a Denver Post article that noted the way Betsy Markey had become a polarizing force in her district in light of her ‘yes’ vote on health care reform. The article showcased an anecdote involving a 1,000 dollar campaign check from Fred Vierra of Cherry Hills Village that had a note attached to it: “You can thank Betsy Markey’s health care vote for this check.” The DP article, as well as the anecdote, gained traction. It precipitated another article, this time in the Washington Post, titled, “In Colorado, Health-care Debate Reverberates in Congressional Race.”
In my post, I argued that Markey’s health care vote didn’t make her any more polarizing of a figure than she already was considering that she was a Democrat representing a +6 Republican district. In fact, I argued that, if anything, the vote helps her re-election prospects by energizing her base supporters, whose support had been flagging due to her original ‘no’ vote on the House version of the bill.
My Interview With Tom Lucero
Over the last several weeks, both the local and national media have been aflutter over the tough re-election race faced by Betsy Markey in Colorado’s Fourth Congressional District. For local pundits and political insiders, however, that comes as little surprise because most knew that even before Markey began her first-term, she was occupying a seat that has been Republican for well over thirty years.
Indeed, even before she was sworn into office, Berthoud Republican, Tom Lucero, who is finishing his second term on the CU Board of Regents, declared his intention to challenge Ms. Markey. Since declaring his candidacy, however, his campaign has been plagued by problems, including staff shakeups and poor name recognition, weak fundraising numbers, as well as a strong primary challenge from Yuma Republican, Cory Gardner, whose campaign appears to be an unstoppable freight train.
Betsy Markey on Health Care Reform and her Re-Election
Last week, local blogger Matt Plavnick attended a fundraiser for Betsy Markey in Loveland. According to Plavnick's coverage of the event, Congresswoman Markey discussed her controversial 'yes' vote on health care reform and briefly revealed her attitude toward re-election. Plavnick wrote:
The congresswoman arrived in high spirits and was happy to disabuse supporters of the notion that her vote in favor of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was politically challenging, despite reports to the contrary. ”It made sense to me,” she said.
Markey spoke for about 15 minutes and took questions for another 20 or so. She echoed her statements from Saturday, recorded in the Denver Post, that it was time to get out and tell people what’s in the health care bill.
Dean Madere’s Elusive Republic: An Interview with a Political Outsider
For political observers, the Republican primary contest in Colorado’s Fourth Congressional district is a foregone conclusion. State representative Cory Gardner (R-Yuma) is the run-away favorite to challenge incumbent Democrat Betsy Markey in November. Gardner carries the blessing of the national party as one of the RNC’s ‘Young Guns,’ a national organization designed for the top GOP challengers in the country, and he has been the presumptive favorite since he entered the race almost a year ago. In fact, Fort Collins City Councilman Diggs Brown, Gardner’s most competitive challenger, dropped out after finishing a distant second in a preference poll taken during the Republican caucuses on March 17th.
Not all of Gardner’s opponents have taken his impressive showing as a reason to quit, however. Dean Madere of Loveland has decided to continue with his insurgency campaign . Only entering the race last November, Madere’s candidacy is the product of the burgeoning 9-12 and Tea Party Movements in Northern Colorado, where he also draws most of his support. His campaign war-chest is so meager that he isn’t required to file a campaign financial report. Nevertheless, despite the diminutive size of his grassroots campaign, his supporters are motivated and passionate, and because of that, he still managed to register 11% in the preference poll done at the GOP caucuses in March.
Colorado's 4th Congressional District Wins the Full Fix Treatment
On Wednesday, Chris Cillizza of Washington Post's The Fix announced that the CD-4 congressional race between Betsy Markey and presumptive front-runner Cory Gardner won the most votes from its readers in a poll taken to decide which race deserved "the full Fix treatment" in light of the health care vote taken on Sunday.
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