Colorado Senate2016

Apart from the open seat in Nevada, Colorado was the only other Democratic-held seat that Republicans had a chance to put into play. A five-way GOP primary on June 28 produced a weak general election nominee, giving incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet a much easier ride to a second term. El Paso County Commissioner Darryl Glenn won the GOP primary with 38 percent of the vote, followed by businessman and former Colorado State University Athletic Director Jack Graham who took 25 percent. Businessman Robert Blaha got 16 percent, while st. Rep. Jon Keyser took 13 percent and consultant Ryan Frazier got 9 percent. Glenn had won the state party’s endorsement, which is not surprising given his very conservative views. Some of these positions include denying climate change, favoring a flat tax and believing that Texas Sen. Ted Cruz should be on the Supreme Court. These same views will make it very difficult for Glenn to expand his support beyond conservative Republicans. It doesn’t help that during the primary race Glenn did not have a professional campaign team, and didn’t raise much money. According to the pre-primary FEC report, he raised $156,711 as of June 8 and had just over $50,000 in the bank. By contrast, Bennet had brought in $13.7 million for the cycle and had $5.7 million in the bank as of June 8. During the primary contest, the Senate Conservatives Fund (SCF) aired television ads supporting Glenn, spending an estimated $187,000 for a spot count of 318, according to Kantar Media/CMAG. SCF is not in a position to fund a general election and has promised to help with grassroots, which won’t get Glenn far. It does not appear that the NRSC will play here given the demands for its resources in more winnable contests. Having survived barely survived a weak opponent in a strong Republican year in 2010, there has been a question as to just how vulnerable Bennet is. While Republicans have contended that his support for the Iran nuclear deal and for closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay provided them an opening, this isn’t going to be the year Republicans get to test their argument. Bennet is a strong favorite for re-election to a second full term. The contest has moved to the Likely Democratic column.

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