CO-Sen: McInnis Out, Dems Sittin' Pretty

Former Congressman Scott McInnis is dropping out of the Colorado Senate Race next year. McInnis' exit from the race is a huge blow to the GOP's chances of holding the seat being vacated by Wayne Allard.

Colorado Republicans are looking toward former Congressman Bob Schaeffer, who took Allard's House seat when he was elected to the Senate in 1996, or Attorney General John Suthers, who replaced former Democratic AG Ken Salazar, currently Colorado's other Senator.

McInnis, a moderate who represented the state's largest Congressional District, the 3rd district (currently held by Democrat John Salazar, Ken's brother) was considered the most electable Republican statewide. Democrats have been on an uptick in the state since 2004, when Democrat Ken Salazar won the US Senate seat, and John won McInnis' House seat, the party captured the state legislature and John Kerry received a rather surprising 47% of the vote in the state. Last year, Democrat Bill Ritter handily defeated Republican Bob Beauprez in the Governor's Race, Democrats increased their majority in the state legislature and won Beauprez's House seat in the Denver suburbs.

To add fuel to the fire for the GOP, Democrats have united behind Boulder-area Congressman Mark Udall, one of the most popular Democrats in the state, for the seat. That, topped with the fact Denver is the site of the 2008 Democratic National Convention and the fact Colorado may very well be a swing state, make problems worse for the GOP here. (Expect a close race for the state's 4th Congressional district between Republican incumbent Marilyn Musgrave and new Democrat Eric Eindless, who ran as an Independent in 2006 and effectively saved Musgrave by taking away enough Democratic votes to prevent her defeat.)

Udall could very well slide to victory here next year and help Democrats capture a state where at the beginning of the decade, they were considered a joke of a party. Once again, another reason why the Democrats need very much to nominate a great candidate and not a polarizing party hack.