Mark Baisley

The Inside Edge has been hearing that with the 6th CD’s Tom Tancredo’s retirement and the opportunity to upgrade in the 5th CD to someone who better understands the need of the defense-intelligence sector, that the defense industry might end up more involved in fundraising in those primaries.

It’s never too early to figure out how Colorado’s sixth Congressional race will affect Colorado politics.

There is speculation among insiders that if Secretary of State Mike Coffman wins the House seat, Governor Bill Ritter would appoint Senate Majority Leader Ken Gordon as Coffman’s replacement as Secretary of State. After all, Gordon was the ’06 Democratic candidate against Coffman on Ritter’s ticket, losing by more than 27,000 votes.

But some insiders suggest that politics is more complicated than that – there is some talk that the position could go to Jared Polis instead.