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Ritter rejects notion he was drag at polls

GOP sees omen in Buescher loss, Amendment 58

By Ed Sealover, Rocky Mountain News

Published November 6, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Gov. Bill Ritter suffered two major losses on a day that otherwise was an across-the-board success for Democrats.

He saw Amendment 58, the oil company tax-break elimination that he championed, go down by a nearly 3-to-2 margin on Tuesday. And he witnessed close friend and Democratic Rep. Bernie Buescher lose a re-election bid in which Republicans tied Buescher to the governor.

Ritter said during a Wednesday news conference that he did not feel the results were an omen of declining popularity for a man who had more than a 70 percent approval rating one year ago. Selling a tax-change policy in an economic downturn is always tough, and Buescher's defeat is a reminder of the registration advantage that Republicans have in Mesa County, he said.

"I don't see this as something that is somehow a turning point for us in this administration," Ritter said.

But Republicans said the two events - combined with a recent defeat of a 2007 Ritter property tax-rate freeze in court and polls showing a slipping approval rating - add up to trouble. Laura Bradford, the Republican who defeated Buescher, went as far as to say the race was more about Ritter than her actual opponent.

"As titular leader of the Democratic Party in the state, Bill Ritter had a great night because Democrats had a great night," political analyst Eric Sondermann said. "As governor of the state, it was more of a mixed bag."

Ritter got behind the proposal that would become Amendment 58 after championing the need to eliminate the tax loophole and redirect revenues toward college scholarships earlier this year. The oil and gas industry threw heavy financial resources into defeating the measure and it failed.

Seeing how unpopular the plan was on the oil-rich Western Slope, Republicans played up Buescher's support for it during Bradford's bid to unseat the Grand Junction resident, who was expected to become speaker of the House next year. They also tied Buescher to Ritter's property tax freeze, which a lower court deemed unconstitutional this year, and emphasized that the moderate Buescher stayed silent as Ritter allowed state workers to unionize.

"I stayed on message," said Bradford, a businesswoman and tree-farm owner who shocked much of the Colorado political world with her win. "This wasn't so much a referendum on Bernie Buescher as it was on Bill Ritter."

House Minority Leader Mike May, R-Parker, said that at this point Ritter is a "wounded politician." Where there was little conversation about how to run against him early this year, there now is more interest among potential 2010 rivals, he said.

Sondermann noted that 2009 is a "make-or-break" year for the governor.

Sen. John Morse, D-Colorado Springs, scoffed at the notion that Ritter is suddenly a weaker figure than he was Monday because of election setbacks Tuesday.

"That's not a ding on his leadership. That's just the challenge of getting people to vote for what they perceive as a tax hike," Morse said.

Getting in line

No Republicans are announcing their intention to run for governor in 2010, but several names are being floated while GOP leaders ponder the vulnerability of Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter. They include:

* State Sen. Josh Penry: The 32-year-old from Grand Junction is expected to become the Senate minority leader today and is viewed as the rising star of the party.

* U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo: The longtime U.S. congressman, who is stepping down in January, has been mentioned as both a gubernatorial and U.S. Senate candidate but has not indicated his interest yet in either race.

* U.S. Attorney Troy Eid: The former chief counsel to Gov. Bill Owens declined comment Wednesday on speculation swirling around his name.

* Former U.S. Rep. Bob Beauprez: Rumor has it that the former congressman may want another shot at the race he lost to Ritter by 17 points in 2006.

* State Sen. Tom Wiens: When the Castle Rock businessman declined to seek a second term this year, he hinted he was doing so to get ready for a statewide run.

Comments

  • November 6, 2008

    9:43 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    goodguy writes:

    While it was a good night for the Democrats nationwide, Eric Sondermann is right that is was a mixed bag here in Colorado. The Democrats lost three seats in the state house and a lot of commissioner seats across the state. The Governor may not have been the sole cause of Bueschers loss, but 58 hurt him on the western slope. I would be interested to know what type of help the Governor sent Bernie in the final weeks either by raising resources or deploying staff to his campaign. It's really devastating for the Dems to have lost such a good legislator especially in a Democratic year.