My stories published in The Denver Post.
EL PASO COUNTY — It’s rare to find a Democrat representing Senate District 11, especially in a part of the state where most of the surrounding Senate districts are Republican strongholds.
Even more rare — if not unprecedented — is a Democrat who not only won the seat, but then turned around and won re-election four years later.
But that’s exactly what John Morse did, in 2006 and 2010
Standing in a Greenwood Village brewery with his wife near his side, Democratic state Rep. Joe Miklosi announced he was running for Congress to restore job growth and the American dream.
“I’ve seen you raise your children; I’ve seen you work two jobs; I’ve seen you make sacrifices,” Miklosi told about 50 supporters.
That was July 2011 — several months before he went from being a long-shot Democrat vying for a seat in what was a Republican stronghold to a formidable challenger in what’s now one of the most competitive congressional contests in not only the state but also the nation.
To understand Congressman Mike Coffman’s family history in Aurora, Mary Thurston is a good resource.
Shortly after Thurston and her family moved to Aurora’s Chambers Heights neighborhood in the mid-1960s, they became close with the Coffman family, who lived a half a block away on the corner of 11th Avenue and Granby Street.
“We were both new families to the neighborhood, and we just connected,” said the 86-year-old Thurston.
For first-time voter Tyler Antikainen, a politically in-tune 19-year-old sophomore at Metropolitan State University of Denver, both presidential candidates offer qualities he describes as essential in leading the country.
To bolster an anemic U.S. economy, he believes Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s business background is an asset. On social issues — particularly support of same-sex marriage — he’s in lock step with President Barack Obama.
“So my feeling is: Do I vote for who might be best for the country economically, or for who I agree with and is open-minded socially? I don’t know,” Antikainen said on a recent afternoon before attending his course on leadership and social change.
COLORADO SPRINGS — President Barack Obama relayed a message to the middle-class Thursday afternoon on a grassy quad at Colorado College, often times interrupted by chants of “Four more years! Four more years!” from the thousands in attendance.
“This election is a choice between two fundamentally different visions for how we move this country forward,” said Obama to a crowd of about 4,200 gathered outside in temperatures in the mid-90s. “The direction you choose in November is going to affect not only us, but our kids and grand kids for decades to come.”
LAS VEGAS — It’s a hindrance in other parts of the country, but front-runner Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith is now likely to extend his momentum as the Republican presidential nomination contest enters a region that’s proved fruitful to him in the past.
With electability a focal point among GOP voters, Romney is well-equipped to gain further traction in his message of being the candidate best fit to challenge President Barack Obama, due in part to the fact he’ll receive far-reaching support from voters like state Sen. Joe Hardy and Heidi Wixom, a reading teacher, in Saturday’s Nevada caucuses.
“There’s a common belief in the Mormon Church that we should vote and be engaged in the process of government,” said Hardy, who is among nine Mormons to serve in the Nevada Legislature.
Exactly four weeks since his last visit to Colorado, President Barack Obama returns on a two-day stop, reaffirming the political importance of the state for the 2012 election.
Shortly after his arrival this evening, Obama is scheduled to attend a pair of private high-dollar fundraisers at the Pepsi Center, where guests will donate a minimum of $250, and a maximum of $35,800 to participate.
Benefits from the fundraisers go toward the Obama Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee that supports the president’s re-election campaign and the Democratic National Committee.
Often overshadowed by what seems like constant rhetoric from politicians, critics and economists about job creation and the economic instability of the country are the stories of common individuals who are unable to find work.
Here in Colorado, the unemployment rate is 8.5 percent.
Between July and August, the state failed to create any jobs. Instead, it lost 1,800.
Today, President Barack Obama returns to Colorado for the first time in more than a year to promote the American Jobs Act, a plan he presented to a gridlocked Congress this month.
Gov. John Hickenlooper has let his fellow Democrats know he has issues with a bill that allows lawmakers to repeal Colorado’s death penalty, mentioning a “veto” as the sponsors say they have the votes to get it passed.
Hickenlooper on Tuesday spoke with House Democrats at their regular caucus luncheon in a building across the street from the Capitol one hour before a committee was scheduled to hear the death-penalty bill.
Rep. Dan Pabon, D-Denver, said it was the first time he has heard the governor use the word “veto.”
“He did not say, ‘I will definitely, undoubtedly with no question veto this,’ ” Pabon said. “But he did say that is something he is bouncing around. He used the ‘v’ word.”
Another Democrat, who asked not to be identified, said Hickenlooper told the caucus, “There are some things we’re going to have to disagree on … and those things we disagree on I’ll have to veto.”
The state that made headlines for two of the most notorious mass shootings in recent history will now take center stage in the debate over gun laws.
Colorado Democrats are poised to unveil a comprehensive package of gun bills as early as this week, even though some members of the party are reluctant to embrace all of the party’s proposals.
The specific bills could cover everything from background checks on the private sales of firearms to a ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines and assault weapons.
Another measure aims to keep firearms out of the hands of individuals with mental health issues.
As they roll out stricter gun legislation, Democrats, who control both chambers at the state Capitol, plan to use the shootings at Columbine High School in 1999 and at an Aurora movie theater in July as stark examples of why such measures are needed.
