Square is not the shape of Jefferson County.
Just a few days after Democratic gubernatorial candidate Michael Johnston announced a record-breaking fundraising quarter, opponent Ed Perlmutter has an “announcement” on Sunday.
Spoiler alert: He’s running for governor, as everyone knew and as the statewide logo would indicate.
This is the least surprising news of the week, although the timing is sooner than expected, no doubt meant to stymie any headline-grabbing fundraising hauls from his primary opponents.
Perlmutter has long been the establishment Democratic favorite to run for the seat – that is, if former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar turned it down, which he did. This will be Perlmutter’s blessing and curse, especially as a Clinton Superdelegate. Currently, Democrats are more divided as a party that we can remember. The two sides are divided between the grassroots (Team Bernie) and the establishment (Team Clinton). Being the establishment candidate that he is will bring him fundraising and resources that he will need to compete in a primary. But it also will bring pitchforks from Democrats who believe he is not principled enough.
The Democratic primary, moreso even than the Republican primary, promises to be bruising and all the players haven’t even jumped in yet. Just today, rumors are swirling that Democrat Cary Kennedy also will announce her bid for Colorado Governor on Monday.
Nonetheless, Perlmutter and Kennedy have some catching up to do with Johnston’s $625,000 and thousands of campaign volunteers.