The Denver Post is reporting that Sen. Ken Salazar (D-CO) has accepted the offer to be President-elect Barack Obama's Secretary of the Interior, and will be vacating his seat in the Senate once he is confirmed for the post.Salazar narrowly defeated Republican Pete Coors in the 2004 Colorado Senate election, so in theory he was vulnerable anyway. However, Salazar was a popular figure statewide, had good approval ratings, and wasn't expected to face serious opposition from across the aisle.
But now that Salazar is out of the way, the 2010 election looks brighter for Republicans, who will probably have a better chance against whoever Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter appoints to the Senate than they would against Salazar. But they would still be fighting an uphill against Salazar's replacement.
Since 2006, Colorado has turned increasingly bluer. In 2006, Bill Ritter took over the governor's mansion, and in 2008, Barack Obama carried the state by eight points and Democrat Tom Udall defeated his Republican opponent by ten points in a formerly Republican-held seat.
The Denver Post also reports:
Names floated as possible successors include Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper; U.S. Reps. John Salazar, Ed Perlmutter and Diana DeGette; Denver Public Schools Superintendent Michael Bennet; outgoing state House Speaker Andrew Romanoff; and former U.S. Attorney Tom Strickland, among others.
This race should be an interesting one to watch.
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