Today is Thursday, May 17, 2012

Colorado

Democrat Jeanne Nicholson beating Tim Leonard in SD 16 by 581 votes; votes still being counted

Democrat Jeanne Nicholson has emailed her supporters that she's beating Republican Tim Leonard in Colorado Senate district 16 by 581 votes. But provisional and mail ballots are still being counted, and the official results probably won't be known until Nov. 19. " Even though the Denver Post and other papers in the district have reported that I am the winner, I think we need to wait until all the votes are counted.  We need to respect everyone who voted even though their votes are being counted now and were not part of the initial count on election night," she writes. Nicholson reports that she's beating Leonard in Boulder, Clear Creek, Gilpin and Summit counties and losing to him in Grand and Jefferson counties.

Michael Bennet, John Hickenlooper took Arapahoe County; GOP took most county offices

Arapahoe County voters split their votes in 2010. They supported Democrats Sen. Michael Bennet and Governor-elect John Hickenlooper while electing Republicans to the legislature and county offices, reports Peter Jones.

Why Scott Tipton won in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional district

Scott Tipton will be the new Republican member of the U.S. House from Colorado's 3rd Congressional district. This Fox News interview shows that he'll be an effective TV presence and representative of his district.

Was anyone really surprised in Colorado?

Aaron Harber offers a concise roundup of election results in Colorado. Was anyone really surprised? By Aaron Harber.

Nate Silver: Rasmussen polls statistically ‘biased;’ SurveyUSA polls more accurate

During the 2010 election cycle, Rasmussen Reports issued about 100 polls on races in Colorado and around the country, but polling guru Nate Silver says the Rasmussen Reports were biased toward Republicans and suffered from cost cutting short cuts that produced misleading results. The cost cutting will cost Rasmussen clients as well as credibility. No pollsters are perfect. "Other polling firms, like SurveyUSA and Quinnipiac University, produced more reliable results in Senate and gubernatorial races. A firm that conducts surveys by Internet, YouGov, also performed relatively well," Silver writes. I have to admit that I've been in denial about the Rasmussen bias. LINK: Rasmussen polls were biased and inaccurate; Quinnipiac, SurveyUSA performed strongly, by Nate Silver. UPDATE: Silver defines 'bias' as statistical bias as revealed in poll results compared with other pollsters, not necessarily political bias. When 'house effects' become 'bias', by Nate Silver.

Colorado GOP’s John Suthers, Scott Gessler, Walker Stapleton post important wins

Colorado Republicans are celebrating some big and very important wins by John Suthers, Scott Gessler and Walker Stapleton.

Suthers was re-elected Attorney General. He will help the new Secretary of State, Gessler, keep elections honest in Colorado. And he will continue to participate in the law suit by 20 states against the unconstitutional mandates in ObamaCare. The mandates require all Americans to buy incredibly expensive health insurance specified by Washington from private insurers.

Gessler is an election lawyer. He has pledged that as Secretary of State, he will make sure that Coloradans' votes are counted accurately and that only citizens vote. He defeated the left's national Secretary of State Project, which is trying to make it easier for Democrats to steal elections. 

Stapleton's biggest potential impact will be as one of 16 members of the board of PERA, the state employees' pension program, which is badly under funded. Stapleton is a political novice, but he brings years of experience as a highly educated financial executive and money manager to the Treasurer's office. He will bring a new level of financial expertise and common sense to PERA's board of directors, which is dominated by government employees who refuse to face reality and their personal conflicts of interests. Stapleton defeated Treasurer Cary Kennedy. She has spent her entire career as a government employee and advocate of higher taxes. She was the primary author of Amendment 23, which has helped create Colorado's current financial crisis. And she was considered a rising star in the Democratic Party and a potential gubernatorial candidate.

LINKS:

A second term for AG Suthers. Denver Post editorial.

Interview: Walker Stapleton would make fixing PERA top priority as Colorado Treasurer, by Donald E. L. Johnson, 2.24.2010.

State office choices. Pueblo Chieftan endorsements of Suthers, Stapleton and Gessler.

Why didn’t Colorado Republicans gain more seats in the state’s House and Senate? Dems played defense

Why didn't Colorado Republicans gain more seats in the state Senate and House? While the GOP gained some 680 state legislative seats nationally, the Colorado GOP picked up only one seat in the Senate and six in the House where it just barely gained control. Democrats still are hoping that final vote counts in a couple of very close races will allow them to retake the House. 

Which pollster did best on Colorado’s 2010 elections?

Which pollser called the Colorado governor's race? Curtis Hubbard tallies the winners and losers here.

Mike Coffman, Doug Lamborn form Military Working Group

U.S. Representatives Mike Coffman (CD-6) and Doug Lamborn (CD-7) are forming a Military Working  Group with Duncan Hunter (R-CA).

Sarah Palin, Jim DeMint, Ken Buck cost Republicans control of U.S. Senate

Sarah Palin and Sen. Jim DeMint foisted Ken Buck and other losers on the Republican Party, and that cost the GOP a chance to win control of the U.S. Senate in Tuesday's elections, according to Mort Kondracke, a long-time political reporter and pundit and a Fox News contributor. He calls Palin a joke in the first video. Is Palin's victory lap video, Together, a joke? It celebrates the winners she endorsed, not the losers.

6 or 7 Republicans will join Mike Coffman’s ‘victory caucus’ in the House

Six or seven veterans of the Gulf, Iraq and Afghanistan wars will join Mike Coffman's (R-CD 6) "Victory Caucus" in the House, reports Pete Hegseth. The number depends on whether another GOP vet wins in Arizona. 

Will Colorado’s women let a strict anti-abortion activist be elected president, governor or senator?

Will Colorado's women let a strict social issues , anti-abortion activist be elected president, governor or senator in Colorado?

Colorado Republicans take state’s House; Dems control state Senate

Colorado's Republicans apparently have taken control of the state's House, but not the Senate. This will give the GOP a small say in the redistricting of the state in 2011, but the Democrats will pretty much have their way with a Democrat-controlled Senate, a Democrat governor and a Democrat-controlled state Supreme Court. At the least, the House Republicans should be unified enough to keep Hickenlooper and the Senate Demcrats from raising taxes or fees, but they won't get any  tax cuts passed. Time will tell whether the very liberal spend and tax Senate will work with the Republicans and Governor-elect John Hickenlooper to cut spending, not just the rate of growth in spending.

Recount of Colorado U.S. Senate race would be futile

Democrat Sen. Michael Bennet is beating Republican Ken Buck by more than 7,000 votes, making the idea of a recount look pretty ridiculous. If the margin was only a few hundred votes, a recount would make sense. Follow the vote count here.

Ballot issues: Amendment 60, 61, 62 get 70% to 75% NO votes; Amend. 63 gets 53% NO

Colorado voters crushed the extremists behind the personhood Amendement 62 and the tax cutting Amendments 60 and 61 and Proposition 101. They also rejected Jon Caldera's fundraising publicity stunt, Amendment 63, which purportedly would have allowed Coloradans to avoid ObamaCare's mandates that everyone must buy health insurance or pay fines. Fox 31 and The Denver Channel have the results with about 88% of votes counted.