Dan Willis

Twenty people have applied for the open Colorado Secretary of State position. The deadline for applicants was Monday.

A seven-member panel will now review the applications and present a list of finalists to Gov. Bill Ritter in early December.

The position opened up when current Secretary of State Mike Coffman was elected to Congress earlier this month.

Outgoing State Rep. Bernie Buescher (D-Grand Junction), the heir apparent to become Speaker of the House next year until a surprise defeat at the polls earlier this month, has applied to become Secretary of State, News2 is reporting.

Buescher's application will pit him against, among others, outgoing Speaker of the House, Andrew Romanoff, who also applied for the position on Monday.

"I thought long and hard about it before sending in my application," Buescher told News2 on Monday. "I think my background as an attorney would be well-suited to the position."

So far, at least five people have said they're applying to succeed Secretary of State Mike Coffman: talk show host and 1990 Democratic Secretary of State nominee Aaron Harber, outgoing Senate President Ken Gordon (D-Denver), federal Election Assistance Commission Chairwoman Rosemary Rodriguez, Gilpin County Clerk and Recorder Jessica Lovingier, and Denver Democratic Party Secretary Dan Willis.

Outgoing Speaker of the House Andrew Romanoff had not yet applied for the position as of 3 p.m. Monday, News2 reported.

Several unnamed Democratic sources told News2 Romanoff was weighing whether to decide whether to hold out for Ken Salazar's U.S. senate seat. Salazar, a Denver Democrat, is considered a finalist for President Barack Obama's Secretary of the Interior.