US Senate

At least six Coloradans are scheduled to speak at the Democratic National Convention this evening on the final day of the convention.

The U.S. Senate race in Colorado is being held up elsewhere as an example of 527 group influence in Senate campaigns.

Bruce Lunsford, the Democratic U.S. Senate nominee in Kentucky, said Tuesday, talked about how, as in his race against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Republican 527s are outspending Democrats in Colorado.

"Mark Udall is really a nice guy and a good candidate and he was probably up 15 points out here at one point, and they've outspent him seven to one," Lunsford said. "I saw three commercials this morning in a half an hour on the same station with all those 527 funds and all that extra money and they've tightened this race up out here as a result.

"So I think that you've got to know what you are fighting against with the Republicans," he said. "They play dirty pool, they do everything they can."

A Colorado U.S. Senate poll released by the Bob Schaffer campaign Thursday shows the Republican nominee and Democrat Mark Udall in a dead heat.

The poll, conducted by Hill Research Consultants - Schaffer's regular pollster - among 553 likely Colorado voters Aug. 23 and 24, shows Udall leading Schaffer 41 percent to 38 percent. That's within the survey's +/- 4.2 percent margin of error.

Most polls of the Senate race up until now have given Udall a slightly larger margin, though Schaffer has closed the gap in the past month.

Schaffer manager Dick Wadhams said the poll results are another indication that "it'll be a close race to the finish."

A spokesperson for Udall was not immediately available for comment.

U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar speaks at the Democratic National Convention: Getty Images PhotoBelow is a transcript of remarks made by U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Denver) during the presidential nomination process at the Democratic National Convention Wednesday evening, as prepared for delivery.

U.S. Rep. Mark Udall (D-Eldorado Springs) was still working on his speech Wednesday for Thursday's Democratic National Convention rally at Invesco Field.

"Every word is valuable," Udall said. "You put a dollar amount on every word in the sense that you want each word to mean something."

Udall will likely speak for about four minutes at about 6:15 p.m. -- dinnertime in Denver, but prime time on the East Coast.

Udall said the only other time he appeared before a crowd comparable to the 75,000 people expected at Invesco Field Thursday evening was when he conducted the pre-game coin toss at a University of Colorado football game.

"I also remind myself that if you fill Invesco Field seven times over, that's the number of people I represent in my congressional district," Udall said.

U.S. Rep. Mark Udall (D-Eldorado Springs) said Wednesday he admires Democratic National Convention delegates who are still holding out for Hillary Clinton even after the U.S. Senator from New York encouraged them to support Barack Obama.

“Every one of those delegates worked hard to get that delegate spot,” Udall said. “They want to continue to voice their support for Senator Clinton tonight. It’s think it’s fine, it’s understandable, and I admire them for doing so.”

But Udall, who endorsed Obama only after the Democratic primaries concluded in early June, called Clinton’s speech “A call to action.”

“And the Democrats are going to heed that call,” Udall predicted. “Even the folks that are going to vote for Senator Clinton because they worked so hard for her are excited as well about Barack Obama.”

U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Colo.) will be one of three Democrats to second the presidential nomination of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) at the Democratic National Convention Thursday, the event's organizers said today.

Salazar will second the nomination along with U.S. Reps. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-Fla.) and Artur Davis (D-Ala.), after Iraq War veteran Michael Wilson formally nominates the Illinois senator, the DNC said in a release Wednesday.

U.S. Rep. Mark Udall (D-Eldorado Springs) will deliver an address at Invesco Field on Thursday as the final member of several Colorado Democrats to speak.

Udall will speak for about four minutes on Thursday about the spirit of individuality in the West and working in a bipartisan way to get things done, said Tara Trujillo, Udall's U.S. Senate campaign spokesperson.

While Udall's exact speaking time has not yet been determined, Trujillo said, he's slotted in the middle of the Thursday speakers' queue.