DISQUS

Mr. Clean · 3 years ago

How about a couple questions for the editor? What were Joel Hefley's winning margins in all years when a Democrat ran against him?  I don't know how to find that out.

This is very subjective, but, how many percentage points was it worth to Lamborn to use the threat that Pelosi would be Speaker of the House if he wasn't sent to office?

Ed Sealover seemed to write about the election from a slant that Lamborn won the general election by a "landslide".  But if Hefley was typically beating Democrats at a 70/30 ratio or better, a 60/40 win by Lamborn represents a significant percentage gain to the Democrats.  I realize it's only 1 race that Lamborn has had and I do know that Hefley had a Democrat get 40% in one year against him.  But, factor into 2008 that Lamborn, if he wins the primary--which I think he will not--would not have the threat that Pelosi would be speaker--she will be! 

Zappatero · 3 years ago

Hey yo here's 2004 - you might have to dig around, but that looks like a good place for congressional election results.

Now, as to suggestions, I know Media Matters does certain media type stuff, but I'd like to see more coverage of the blatant lies and extreme rhetoric that comes off our hate radio every day.

Something has to shame these people.

Wendy Norris · 3 years ago

answers from the editor From the US House clerk's office:

2004 election

Joel Hefley, Republican 193,333 (71%)


Fred Hardee, Democrat  74,098 (27%)


Arthur Roberts, Libertarian  6,627 (2%)

2002 election

Joel Hefley, Republican 128,118 (69%)


Curtis Imrie, Democrat  45,587 (25%)


Biff Baker, Libertarian  10,972 (6%)

2000 election

Joel Hefley, Republican  253,330 (83%)


Kerry Kantor, Libertarian  37,719 (12%)


Randy MacKenzie, Natural Law 15,260 (5%)

In this context of Hefley's previous races including the 2002 midterms, Jay Fawcett's achievement of 40 percent against Lamborn is even more encouraging.

It's nearly impossible to determine the percentage pickup of the "scared of a 66-year-old grandmother" constituency in CD-5. It likely only appealed to those voters who were already inclined to cast a ballot for Lamborn but needed that extra motivation to ensure they made it to the polls. I doubt the Republican and unaffiliated cross-over voters would be swayed much by it.

The sentiment in the Springs is likely in tune with the rest of the country -- this election was a referendum on Bush, the war, and the economy in that order.

I would be much more inclined to say that Hefley's uncharacteristic snubbing of Lamborn was very much a factor in Fawcett's favor in giving the moderates a candidate to consider. Were Crank the victor of the GOP primary, I'm sure that Fawcett still would have reached close to 40 percent.

To me, I think the deciding factor in El Paso County was the breaking Haggard scandal the weekend before election day. The religious right --  who have completely perfected an odd persecution status -- circled the wagons even more tightly and reflexively pulled the R lever.

Wendy Norris · 3 years ago

50,000 Watts of Hate Is a regular series here that exposes the "the most profane, intellectually-stunted, and ludricous statement made on Colorado talk radio today". Believe it or not, it's tough to weed out the worst of the worst most days because it's all so unbelievably bad.

Look for a new installment soon.

Thanks for the suggestion and encouragement.

Mr. Clean · 3 years ago

Thanks for the stats. Let's see if Fawcett can keep the spotlight on Lamborn's failings for the next two years.  Hope he does.

Craig · 3 years ago

Difficult to Read I find your site very difficult to navigate and read.  The headlines are too big and leave too few stories "front-paged."  I much prefer the formats like Coloradopols and DailyKos which I read all the time.

Wendy Norris · 3 years ago

thanks for the feedback You can modify the size of the site by adjusting the text size  in your browser under "view".

We purposefully went with a magazine-format design instead of traditional blog look so we could front page more stories without miles of scrolling required of the reader. Typically at dKos there are fewer headlined posts than the nine rotating stories featured at Colorado Confidential. We also update the site four times daily at 8am, Noon, 4pm, and 8pm.

Since we often have an embarrassment of story riches here many posts simply can't be elevated to the front page. You can also follow posts in the "This Just In" column and/or click the link on the byline to track the work of your favorite reporters.

Each of our stories are tagged with a main theme and keywords. The themes are linked and depicted with an icon in the right hand column under "Beats We Cover" as well as the links below our logo masthead and a seach engine at the bottom of the page.

If you're having trouble navigating the site, please accept my apologies. I'd really like to hear what specific problems you're having so we can address them.

Again, thanks for the feedback.

Andrew Oh-Willeke · 3 years ago

It is worth noting that neither Fred Hardee in 2004, nor Curtis Imrie in 2002, ran full fledged, well funded campaigns, and there was no major party opposition in 2000.  Hefley was an established incumbent in those years.  Hardee (the county party chairman) and Imrie (something of a perennial candidate whose campaigns have been more about spreading the party's message than winning against nearly impossible odds) were, with all due respect, placeholder candidates placed on the ballot, just in case.  They ran before Howard Dean had really instilled the 50 state strategy into the consciousness of national Democratic strategists.

The fact that the 5th CD race was a race for an open seat, Lamborn;s lack of unanimous backing from the GOP, Fawcett's military credentials, and backing from the Netroots, including Daily Kos backed Fawcett, all contributed to his much improved showing in the District.

Indeed, the fact that Bill Winter in the 6th CD, unlike Fawcett, was running against a long time incumbent, with unanimous backing from the party (however lukewarm), and with considerable less national or netroots support, in a district with very similar voter registration party membership numbers to the 5th CD, supports the conclusion that Winter's campaign effectiveness has been maligned beyond what the facts would support.