Pindell Report: Colorado seen as major player in 2008 politics

Colorado will likely remain the center of the political universe long after the Democratic National Convention leaves town, a new Politicker.com analysis shows.

As one of the top presidential swing states, and home to an increasingly competitive U.S. Senate race, and a top U.S. House race, Colorado will help decide not just presidency, but also congressional control.

The Pindell Report, named for Politicker.com Managing Editor James Pindell, aims to provide the country's most dynamic and richly reported ranking and analysis of U.S. Senate, U.S. House and  gubernatorial races, plus presidential swing states.

In the presidential race, Colorado is viewed as the fifth most-competitive swing state, behind other Western states like Nevada and New Mexico.

"Democrats have been excited about their gains in the West for the past few years and Colorado is the epicenter of that change," Pindell said.

The state's U.S. Senate race is also is ranked as the second-most competitive, only behind New Hampshire.

"Colorado has an environment of peaks and valleys and a politics just as rocky. The key dynamic to watch is if Schaffer continues to get momentum in the fall and make national Republicans spend money here," Pindell said.

And the 4th Congressional District is home to the 14th most-competitive race out of the country's 435 U.S. House races.

"Republican Marilyn Musgrave has not enjoyed the benefits of a normal third-term incumbent," said Pindell. "She is moving in the wrong direction by winning at smaller margins each time and this time it doesn't help that her opponent now has raised more money."

The non-partisan report ranks races in order of their competitiveness. Therefore the No. 1 race in the country is the most likely to be decided by one vote. The race ranked last is believed to have a larger margin of victory -- no matter if it is a Republican win or Democratic win. In determining competitiveness, the reports takes into account polling, fundraising, past election data, demographic changes and interviews with the nation's top political strategists. The report also heavily uses Politicker.com's reporters out in the field covering these elections for the network's state-based websites. The rankings are evaluated daily ensuring rankings are current.

COMPLETE DETAILS:

• Pindell Report: U.S. Senate
• Pindell Report: U.S. House
• Pindell Report: Governor
• Pindell Report: Presidential Swing States
• About the Pindell Report