Udall's strategy: 'cajoling' people to vote

By Lynn Bartels, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published October 28, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
Updated October 28, 2008 at 12:35 a.m.

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Photo by Darin McGregor / The Rocky

Senate candidate Mark Udall, left, jokes around with U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar as they ride on Udall's campaign bus on Monday.

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Kathleen Gibson walked up to Democratic Senate candidate Mark Udall and held out her hand.

"I just want you to know that you're my environmental hero," she told him, after Udall spoke at a get-out-the vote rally at Arapahoe Community College on Monday.

"Green is the new red, white and blue," Udall said. "We need new leadership in this country."

"Well, that's going to be you," the 63-year-old Gibson said.

Udall paused for a second, taking in what the Littleton woman said. A huge smile spread across his face.

In one week the Eldorado Springs congressman will know whether Coloradans have hired him to be their next U.S. senator, but for now he's on a final, frantic pace to get out every vote possible.

That meant rallies on two campuses Monday afternoon and a visit to a Hindu temple in Littleton that night. It translates into getting up early this morning to talk to commuters at RTD's park-n-Ride at Interstate 25 and East 88th Avenue at 7:15.

"Our strategy now is cajoling, encouraging and helping people get out to vote," Udall said, seated in the back of his campaign bus as it headed from Littleton to his headquarters in Denver.

It means calling the thousands of Democrats who requested mail-in ballots but haven't turned them in. In Pueblo, for example, 19,000 Democrats requested mail-in ballots but only 5,500 have been returned, leading to some nail-biting among Udall staffers.

'I don't believe in polls'

The polls show Udall has as much as a 13-point lead over Republican Bob Schaffer, but that gives Udall little comfort.

"I don't believe in polls," he said bluntly - never mind that his own campaign has a pollster.

"We want to avoid complacency," he said, noting outcomes in other elections, including the 2002 Senate matchup that had Democrat Tom Strickland ahead anywhere from 2 percent to 6 percent. Strickland lost to U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Loveland.

Joining Udall this week is U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Denver, who at every stop urged Coloradans to vote for the man he calls "the true son of the West."

"We are hopeful that 80 percent of Coloradans will have voted by Election Day," Salazar said, at a rally at the Community College of Aurora.

He was introduced by U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif., who is campaigning in Colorado this week. She won her first election to Congress by 984 votes, and the results were unsuccessfully challenged.

"That's one of the reasons we've got to get out and get all these votes cast now is so we 'leave no doubt,' as they said in Rembember the Titans," Udall said, referring to the football movie. He loves to quote the scene where the white coach tells the black coach to leave no doubt and run up the score.

First-time voter: age 45

At the rally, Udall spoke to first-time voter Karen Heilig, 45, of Englewood, who was wearing dog tags that said her son is a Marine. She's a passionate supporter of Barack Obama.

"My son said to me, 'You know who to vote for,' " she told Udall. "I said, 'Who?' He said 'Barack. Pass the word.' "

So she is. Udall has her support, too.

At Arapahoe Community College, the Udall bus pulled up alongside the RV that Obama's supporters have been driving around the state.

Udall talked about the economy and the environment but got his biggest applause when he said America needs to responsibily end the Iraq war.

Paula Szilard, 68, of Littleton, handed the Udall campaign a check. She said she became worried when finance reports released last week showed Schaffer had $1.5 million on hand and Udall had less than $500,000.

One rallygoer asked Salazar, who was wearing his trademark cowboy hat, why he doesn't get one for Udall.

"I'll trade him my hat for his hair," Salazar said. "He doesn't need one.

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