House Editor David Wasserman writes: Denver District Court Judge Robert Hyatt may have selected the "Democratic" Colorado map last week, but it may be awhile before the map starts paying dividends for Democrats. The most dramatic shift is GOP Rep. Mike Coffman's 6th CD, which shifts from the heavily Republican southern Denver suburbs to the more politically mixed eastern Denver suburbs. It's not likely a district an agitator like former GOP Rep. Tom Tancredo could have won, but it's probably a district Coffman can hold onto. Elsewhere, the map doesn't provide much help for Democratic state Rep. Sal Pace's challenge to GOP Rep. Scott Tipton (CO-03) on the Western Slope, and actually dooms Democratic state Sen. Brandon Shaffer's challenge to GOP Rep. Cory Gardner in the eastern 4th CD.
In putting forward the map, Democrats put long-term prospects before near-term success of their 2012 recruits. Many state Democrats figure that over the long term, their party's fortunes will be much rosier in the Denver suburbs than in portions of rural Colorado. Given President Obama's performance in 2008 and likely performance
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