With 13 in the running for the chance to run against embattled Democratic U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, it can be tough to keep track of where everyone is in the process. Today, Jack Graham, turned in his signatures to get on the June primary ballot. His petition format was approved on January 28, 2016. In order to make the ballot, Graham had to submit 10,500 valid signatures to the Secretary of State, or 1,500 from each of Colorado’s seven Congressional Districts. Graham submitted 20,000 signatures, nearly double the amount necessary to make the ballot.
Graham’s tweet from this morning:
Ginger and I deeply appreciate the more than 20,000 Coloradans who have signed petitions on our behalf-thank you.
-Jack— Jack Graham (@jackgraham2016) March 28, 2016
Those signing petitions can only sign one candidate’s petition, so as candidates turn signatures in, it becomes more difficult to have the required number of “new” signatures. Graham’s first submittal gives him a slight edge in the race. Then again, there are approximately 950,000 registered Republicans in the state, so the others can probably scrounge 10,500 from the remaining 930,000 Republicans.
There are four other candidates petitioning on the ballot in Colorado’s U.S. Senate race: businessman Robert Blaha, former Aurora City Councilman Ryan Frazier, Jefferson County Commissioner Don Rosier, and former Colorado State Representative Jon Keyser. The signatures for all are due to the Secretary of State by April 4.