We’re not saying U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter coordinated his retirement announcement with state Sen. Brittany Pettersen so the Lakewood Democrat could launch her campaign less than 24 hours later to replace him.

It just magically happened that way.

Pettersen already has a campaign treasurer, a webpage and a fundraising apparatus up and running. 

An hour after her announcement Tuesday morning, the canned graphics of endorsement quotes from half a dozen fellow state lawmakers began rolling onto her Twitter feed.

It really was so completely choreographed, down to her perfectly coiffed hair and adorable child posed in the … wait, something’s missing …

Pettersen’s husband, Democrat operative Ian Silverii, writes a column for the Denver Post.

No word on whether the newspaper will suspend his column for the duration of the campaign to avoid any further appearance of bias or impropriety.

All the major news outlets are bubbling about the campaign, and Kyle Clark is practically gushing to proclaim her the likely frontrunner as Pettersen announced her ascension to the 7th Congressional District throne to replace Perlmutter at the end of his term this year.

That is, if she wins the Democrat primary, and gets past the Republican candidate in what is expected to be a brutal midterm election for Joe Biden’s party.

Already competing for the Republican primary are Erik Aadland and Laurel Imer, and state Rep. Colin Larson is expected to decide next week whether to run.

Pettersen’s candidacy comes with a lot of baggage that goes back at least a decade.

PeakNation™ will remember Pettersen’s biggest hit, her support for opening public opium dens for addicts to shoot drugs with a medical staff on standby to protect their high from an overdose.

Pettersen insists drug dens won’t be an issue in her congressional campaign, so she’s a fool to boot.

From the Colorado Sun:

“That is not a policy that I will be working on at the national level,” she said, adding that “Republicans have failed at trying to use that in the past against me.”

Is she saying it’s not a policy issue she will be working on the national level because she realizes it was a stupid idea? Or that she just doesn’t want Republicans to use it against her a second time, and win?

PeakNation™ will also remember Pettersen has a closet full of skeletons she’s likely to trip over, which we will regularly unpack for her throughout the campaign.

Assuming it lasts longer than the two months she ran for Perlmutter’s seat when he contemplated a run for governor in 2017, but then Polis’s millions in personal campaign funding changed his mind.