UPDATE: Of course, the real question – will Solano heed Tochtrop’s warning about gun control?  As we noted earlier, The Colorado Observer quoted Tochtrop as warning Democrats in swing districts that they “have to be very careful to vote their district’s sentiment” on gun control.  If Solano’s past behavior is any indication of future, we’re betting she ignores tips to moderate.

Former Democratic State Representative Judy Solano, who represented State House District 31, yesterday filed to replace State Senator Lois Tochtrop in Senate District 24, a district that is considered fairly competitive by some political insiders.  Tochtrop, who serves as the Senate Assistant Majority Leader, is term limited as a Senator.

Solano is a former teacher who received her largest donations in 2010 from unions, according to Ballotopedia.  Specifically, her four largest donors were the Food and Commercial Workers union, Colorado Education Association, Colorado Professional Firefighters union, and Service Employees International Union.  Adding to her liberal street creds, she’s a member of the embattled Adams County Democratic Party, the Colorado Education Association, the Colorado Environmental Coalition, the National Education Association, and the Sierra Club, Rocky Mountain Chapter, among others.

And, Solano is no ordinary liberal.  She sits on far left of the liberal spectrum as demonstrated by her quiet embrace of Proposition 103, which would have killed nearly 120,000 jobs in Colorado.  Solano also stood with her SEIU union goons brethren in a “solidarity protest” at Colorado’s State Capitol against reforms that Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker hoped to enact.

While Solano perhaps is best-known for her education legislation, her lesser-known votes would have spelled trouble for Colorado’s middle class families.  For example, she’s voted to increase vehicle registration and insurance fees as well as to increase utility bills in the name of green energy initiatives, which have worked out so well in Colorado (ahem, Abound).  And, then there are her votes that reveal her legislative love for trial lawyers and obsessive hate for home builders….

What does this all mean?  It means that 2014 is just another step closer.  Game on.