Senate District 19 has always been one of the most interesting and dramatic in the state legislature. It has a long history of electing union cronies, the match-ups are notoriously vicious, and there is a strong Libertarian element that’s been known to pull votes from the GOP.
Zenzinger
It is always an entertaining district to watch during the election, and for years Democrats held onto SD 19 by skin of their teeth. Until finally last year, Republican Laura Woods ousted Democrat Sen. Rachel Zenzinger 47.8 to 46.4, with the Libertarian candidate pulling 5.7 percent of the vote – a substantial margin for a third party.
Voters rejected Zenzinger because of her bad policies, and (largely) because she was the handpicked successor of former Sen. Evie Hudak, who resigned rather than face a recall effort over her anti-2nd Amendment votes. Zenzinger’s loss flipped control of the state Senate to favor Republicans for the first time in a decade and was a huge blow to her party.
So, when The Colorado Statesman reported last week that Zenzinger is “seriously considering” a rematch, we had to question her judgment. The operatives on the Dem side are likely telling Zenzinger that she has a chance at winning back her seat in a presidential year because turnout is higher. However, for such an important and competitive district, why would you risk running a candidate who couldn’t do the job right the first time?
Bringing Zenzinger back is like a big F U to the voters of the SD 19, and just pure laziness on behalf of the Dem Party. You’d think they would prefer someone with less baggage.