Everybody’s Coming To Get Rep. Jared Wright

Rep. Jared Wright (R-Fruita).

The Grand Junction Sentinel's Charles Ashby reports, freshman Rep. Jared Wright, who won his seat despite a fierce campaign by fellow Mesa County Republicans to get him to pull out, is headed into a re-election battle against a Republican primary opponent and an eventual Democratic challenger–but most of all, against himself. It appears that the passage of a year's time hasn't helped Rep. Wright shore up his position:

Republican James Fletcher and Democrat Brad Webb want to assure state Rep. Jared Wright that they are not in cahoots.

Though the two men do have a common goal, to unseat Wright in House District 54, they laughed at the suggestion, which was made by the Fruita GOP incumbent in a recent campaign fundraising letter that Wright’s campaign sent out earlier this month.

“He didn’t come into this fight alone,” says Wright’s Nov. 15 letter to potential donors, referring to Webb. “With him he brought a ‘Republican’ to run in a primary race against me — a classic political triangulation technique.”

“…[Fletcher] has instead run a campaign completely, 100 percent trying to assassinate my character, attacking my family and trying to leverage the fact that I am not an insider politician against me,” Wright’s letter reads.

But Fletcher said he’s never said a single bad word about Wright’s family, though he has questioned his character, particularly since it was uncovered last year that Wright had amassed a $74,000 debt, filed for bankruptcy and was forced to leave the Fruita Police Department after an internal affairs investigation questioned his honesty and integrity.

Earlier this month, Rep. Wright kicked off his re-election campaign with help from GOP House Minority Leader Rep. Brian DelGrosso.–months after Palisade Republican J.J. Fletcher announced his intention to challenge Wright for the House District 54 nomination. That show of support from legislative leadership wasn't received well by locals. Former Mesa County GOP vice-chairman Kevin McCarney wrote to DelGrosso in response, "you have no idea the amount of deceit Mr. Wright used during his campaign to be elected last year."

It's still an open question as to whether incumbency will be enough to overcome the scandal that Wright stepped into before his first election. The seat, formerly occupied by Rep. Laura Bradford whose legislative career ended in a DUI/legislative immunity scandal, is more or less unwinnable for Democrats–enough so that Democrats didn't even have a candidate in the race when Wright's implosion began last year.

In 2014, Mesa County Republicans will either address this disgrace, or legitimize Wright for good.

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Pelosi Coming To Denver (Cue Conspiracy Theory!)

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).

FOX 31's Eli Stokols reports:

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi will be in Colorado Wednesday to help raise money for Andrew Romanoff and other Democratic congressional candidates, FOX31 Denver has confirmed.

Pelosi, D-California, will appear at a morning fundraiser for Romanoff, the former statehouse Speaker who is challenging Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Aurora, for his 6th District seat, expected to be one of the closest and most expensive in the country next year.

She’ll also join Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder, at a second fundraiser for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

While Democrats are optimistic about their chances to pick up Coffman’s seat, which was re-drawn last year, the prevailing view in Washington at the moment is that the party’s chances of winning back a House majority in 2014 are extremely slim.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi's visit to Denver is another sign that the CD-6 race between vulnerable incumbent Rep. Mike Coffman and Democratic challenger Andrew Romanoff will be a marquee race in 2014.

One person we haven't heard from in relation to Pelosi's visit to Denver is recall spokesperson Jennifer Kerns of Americans for Prosperity. You'll recall last week's nationally publicized claim by Ms. Kerns that ballots "mailed from Chicago" may be headed to the recall elections in Colorado. Her "proof," as you may remember, was the mere presence of an Organizing for America worker at Democratic Party headquarters in Pueblo. "From Chicago!" Kerns earnestly warned to a laugh track and embarrassed side glances from fellow Republicans.

Well, folks, Nancy Pelosi is coming to town! We assume the alert from Kerns will be even more entertaining.

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Coming Soon: Paul Ryan Stumping For Coffman?

Hey Girl, meet my friend Mike Coffman.

? Take note of this brief report from Politico:

Rep. Paul Ryan has committed to dramatically ramping up his fundraising appearances to help fellow House Republicans, a move that will help boost his political muscle among GOP lawmakers and bring piles of cash to the party’s election arm.

Ryan, the former GOP vice presidential candidate and current chairman of the House Budget Committee, has 20 political events scheduled between now and the end of 2013, according to a Republican aide…

“House Republicans are thankful for Chairman Ryan’s dedication to growing the House majority and his generous commitment to his colleagues and the NRCC,” said Andrea Bozek, a committee spokeswoman. “As one of the biggest draws in politics, it’s not surprising that Ryan’s approval rating is rock solid with independents, conservatives and our donor community.”

We'll be very curious to see if Rep. Paul Ryan, 2012's GOP vice presidential nominee, makes an appearance on behalf of Colorado's most endangered Republican incumbent Rep. Mike Coffman. A Ryan/Coffman joint event might make for a good fundraiser with conservatives, but Ryan could serve as an uncomfortable reminder of so much of Coffman's record that he is now trying to leave behind. Coffman no longer represents the deep red constituency formerly the stomping ground of the hard-right Rep. Tom Tancredo, and barely survived last year against a weak opponent in a district refashioned into one of the most competitive in America.

This means that when the local pro-choice "Fertilized Eggs" show up to protest Ryan, as you can be assured they will, they'll also protest Coffman's co-sponsorship of a bill with Rep. Todd Akin to restrict federal abortion coverage to cases of "forcible," or if you will, "legitimate" rape. And Ryan with Coffman can't help but call to mind Old Coffman's view that Social Security is a "Ponzi scheme." To be fair, we haven't actually heard if that is also the view of New Coffman®.

You know, folks, maybe Ryan should just steer clear of Coffman altogether. This is a bit of a minefield.

Full story: Coming Soon: Paul Ryan Stumping For Coffman?

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