The Eye

Colorado's 7th includes most of Aurora, where Frazier is serving his second term as an at-large member of the city council, as well as some other close-in suburbs west, north and east of Denver.

Frazier kicked off his Senate campaign in April to some national attention. One of a handful of Republicans challenging Democratic incumbent Michael Bennet, Frazier was bidding to become only the second black Republican senator since the Reconstruction era more than a century ago.

His departure from the Senate race is an acknowledgement of the strength of the recently announced Republican candidacy of Jane Norton, a former lieutenant governor who is the best-known GOP candidate in a crowded primary field.

Frazier has a much better chance of securing the Republican nomination in the 7th District, though he would face a sturdy opponent in Perlmutter, who won a second term in 2008 with 63 percent of the vote in a district that voted more strongly for Barack Obama (59 percent) than did the state at-large (54 percent).

Republican Brian T. Campbell Sr. also is seeking the nomination but is not well-known.

Perlmutter reported raising $201,000 in this year's third quarter and had $912,000 cash-on-hand as October began. Frazier planned to file a third-quarter report for his Senate committee by midnight Thursday.

CQ Politics presently rates the House race as Safe Democratic, but will take a new look at the race days and weeks ahead to determine if a rating change is warranted.

To follow the 2010 House races, check out the CQ Politics election map