DENVER – The Republican field to challenge Democrat Michael Bennet in the Colorado U.S. Senate race next year remains wide open after U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman announced Monday he would not seek the seat.
Republican state Sen. Ellen Roberts of Durango – who told The Durango Herald last month that she seriously is considering a run for the office – said Coffman’s decision offers more clarity in deciding whether to officially announce a campaign.
“I have a lot of respect for Congressman Coffman, so if he had gotten into the race, I wasn’t going to do that,” Roberts said. “It’s an interesting piece of the puzzle, but it’s just one of the pieces.”
The U.S. Senate race is likely to be an expensive and tight swing race that will garner the eyes of the nation, especially as Republicans fight to maintain their majority.
Coffman was viewed as a Republican frontrunner, with polling placing him in a horse race against Bennet.
Political observers believe Roberts would be a formidable candidate, given certain moderate votes and her position that she is pro-choice, though pro-choice groups and Democrats recently challenged her stance. Roberts also would have to survive what is likely to be a divisive and crowded GOP primary.
First reported by The Denver Post, Coffman said he is happy with the work he is doing as a congressman from Aurora, including work on veterans affairs. Coffman is a veteran himself. He said he would seek re-election to the 6th Congressional District.
“My entire career in public service has been mission-focused,” Coffman said in a statement after news broke that he would not seek the Senate seat. “I have decided to seek re-election in the House so that I may continue my mission to clean up the VA, where my position as chairman of the House Veterans Oversight and Investigation Subcommittee has allowed me to shine a light on the culture of bureaucratic incompetence and corruption.”
Democrats and progressive groups stepped up their attacks on Coffman during the last couple of months, preparing for a possible run. They say Coffman’s decision not to run leaves Republicans in a precarious situation. The seat is considered a target for Republicans to maintain control of the Senate.
“Republicans in Washington are in a full-blown panic, scrambling to find a serious candidate to take on Sen. Michael Bennet, and this ensures what will soon be a crowded GOP primary, which will produce a Republican nominee who is out of touch, won’t stand up for average Coloradans and can’t win in 2016,” said Andrew Zucker, spokesman for the Colorado Democratic Party.
“What Coffman was most afraid of in 2016 is easy to understand,” said Amy Runyon-Harms, executive director of left-leaning ProgressNow Colorado. “Coffman was afraid that the voters of the entire state of Colorado would have the chance to judge Coffman by his actions – and his years of empty promises as a member of Congress.”
pmarcus@durangoherald.com
