UPDATE: The Greeley Tribune has an official statement from former U.S. Senate candidate, now U.S. Rep. candidate in CD4 Ken Buck:

“I have talked with Cory Gardner and feel that he would be a strong candidate for the United States Senate to beat Mark Udall,” Buck said. “I made the decision to step down and endorse Cory for that job. I was running against Mark Udall because I think this country needed to change directions, and I still think the country needs to change directions, and I think Cory gives us the best chance to get that done.”

Our first thought? Holy smokes Batman 2014 is going to be fun. The Denver Post and Lynn Bartels have been on fire for the past couple of days – did they buy you guys a new espresso machine over there? – broke the story that Colorado’s favorite son, U.S. Rep. Cory Gardner, will announce in the coming days his bid for the U.S. Senate against liberal, under-seige U.S. Senator Mark Udall.

We’ve been wondering why Udall has been so skittish lately.  Perhaps he had heard similar rumblings.  Or, maybe it’s the same thing that caused Gardner to jump in – Udall’s poll numbers must be abysmal. Truly terrible.  And now, Udall’s one claim – that he was an NSA watchdog – is on a shaky foundation.  Where does he even go from here?  Does Udall find a way to bow out of this terrible mess he’s in?

But, back to Cory Gardner.

In case you’ve been living under a rock, Cory Gardner is from Yuma, Colo.  He attended Colorado State University and went to law school at University of Colorado.  He’s worked for U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard.  He unseated Democrat Betsy Markey in 2010 to go on to be a superstar in the U.S. House of Representatives where he has been talked about as a contender for House leadership.

So far, there’s been no official confirmation.  We reached out to Gardner’s congressional staff, but mums the word.  So, who’s on 4th?

The Weekly Standard is reporting that Ken Buck, once considered the leader in the Senate race, will now move over to the Fourth Congressional District, which makes sense.  That leaves Amy Stephens, Owen Hill, Floyd Trujillo, Mark Aspiri, and Tom Janich in.  Your move, Amy and gents.