Jane Norton, the former lieutenant governor of Colorado, is the latest Republican to launch a challenge to appointed Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet in his 2010 bid for a full six-year term.
The Denver Post reported Tuesday that Norton, Colorado's No. 2 officeholder from 2003 to 2007, filed papers to establish a campaign committee and plans to make an official candidacy announcement next week.
Norton has set up a campaign Web site and is taking other steps to promote her candidacy online. Typing "Michael Bennet" in Google displays Norton's campaign Web site address as a "sponsored link."
While Norton's previous statewide stint likely will make her a top-tier candidate for the GOP nomination, she joins a field already crowded with six other would-be Republican challengers, who have revealed tentative or official plans to run.
Democrats have been on a roll in Colorado over the past few years. But Bennet has struggled to dispel an aura of vulnerability since Gov. Bill Ritter Jr. plucked him in January from his position as Denver's schools superintendent to succeed Democratic Sen. Ken Salazar, who resigned to become Interior secretary in the Obama administration.
A Public Policy Polling survey in August gave Bennet a 31 percent approval rating and a 38 percent disapproval rating, with nearly a third of respondents not stating an opinion.
The other confirmed or likely Republican candidates seeking to take on Bennet are Ken Buck, a county district attorney; Ryan Frazier, a city councilman in Aurora; Luke Korkowski, a lawyer; Cleve Tidwell, a businessman; Tom Wiens, a former state senator; and two political unknowns, Vincent Martinez and Gary Kennedy.
Among the Republican candidates, only Buck and Frazier raised campaign funds through the June 30 cutoff for the second-quarter campaign finance reporting period.
Bennet appears headed to a fight of his own in the Democratic primary, staged by Andrew Romanoff, a former state House Speaker.
CQ Politics presently rates the Colorado Senate race as Democrat Favored, but the contest will be watched closely for its potential to become highly competitive.
To see how all of the 2010 Senate races are shaping up, check out the CQ Politics' election map.
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