Brief by Central Staff
Politics – August 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine
Even though the major and minor political parties have pretty well agreed on their presidential candidates, and Colorado voters had a say, the official state primary elections are on Aug. 12.
What happened last February were precinct caucuses, where party members gathered to select delegates to the county assemblies, which in turn selected delegates to the state convention, and then in turn, to the national conventions.
But that was only for the presidential contest. The Colorado primary election for other offices, ranging from county commissioners to the U.S. Congress, comes in August. It used to be in September, but apparently people paid too much attention to it, so the legislature moved it to August, when Coloradans are either on vacation or hosting visiting relatives.
Anyway, there’s an unusual primary for the Republican nomination in the Fifth Congressional District, which is mostly Colorado Springs but also includes Chaffee and Lake counties.
Incumbents hardly ever face primary challenges, but Rep. Doug Lamborn, elected in 2006 after winning a six-way Republican primary, again faces Jeff Crank and Bentley Rayburn in a contest for the GOP nomination. The Democrats’ sacrificial lamb in the Fifth this year is Hal Bidlack.
The Fifth was created after Colorado gained a new seat in the 1970 census. It has never elected a Democrat.
