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Bennet viewed as vulnerable if he runs in 2010

By Lynn Bartels, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published January 3, 2009 at 12:05 a.m.

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Republicans could barely contain their glee when they heard it was Michael Bennet.

Although they acknowledge that the Denver Public Schools superintendent is well-liked and respected, many in the GOP - including some who would dearly love to take the U.S. Senate seat in 2010 - said Bennet makes a much more vulnerable target than other, better-known Democrats.

"The governor said his No. 1 criteria was to find someone who represented all of Colorado," said Republican state Attorney General John Suthers, who plans to run for the seat. "I don't think Bennet fits the bill at all. He's very Denver."

Suthers isn't the only Republican smiling at Gov. Bill Ritter's decision to appoint Bennet to U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar's Senate seat.

GOP members on Friday said they were surprised that Ritter didn't select one of the Democratic Party's other stars, including Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, outgoing Speaker Andrew Romanoff or U.S. Reps. John Salazar and Ed Perlmutter.

Republicans have talked to Democrats who are upset that their choices were bypassed.

"I think the Democrats are going to be totally perplexed by this, and it's going to increase their already existing concern about Gov. Ritter and his capacity to govern," said Dick Wadhams, Colorado Republican Party chairman.

Ritter is not making any public statements until the formal announcement Saturday of Bennet's appointment.

The news caught scores of Democrats by surprise, and they sensed the Republicans' excitement.

"I think they're going to be licking their lips," said Denver City Councilman Doug Linkhart, a former Democratic state senator. "I think Michael Bennet . . . will look to them like a big, easy target."

It's not as if the GOP doesn't face its own hurdles in 2010. Jennifer Duffy, who handicaps U.S. Senate races for the Cook Political Report in Washington, said Bennet's chance to be elected to the seat in 2010 would be aided by a "brutal Republican primary."

But how many Republicans will vie for the seat is unknown.

Suthers, who said he plans to off a campaign in the next couple of months, said Bennet does present a challenge.

"Bennet's very smart. He's obviously well-connected," he said. "But he's never run for office before. Yes, he's run the Denver Public Schools but all its touted achievements this is not a job complete by any stretch of the imagination."

He also noted that Bennet is a relative newcomer to Colorado. Bennet, who moved to the state in 1997, has declined to comment on the appointment.

Gil Cisneros, president and CEO of the Chamber of the Americas, wanted Ritter to make history by appointing the first Hispanic woman to the U.S. Senate. Cisneros supported ex-state Sen. Polly Baca, deemed a long shot by political observers.

Bennet's appointment, Cisneros said, "could be a coup for Republicans in 2010."

They're already rubbing their hands.

Staff writer Daniel Chacon contributed to this report.