CQ rates CO-4 "No Clear Favorite"

The race between U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-Fort Morgan) and Betsy Markey (D-Fort Collins) has become more competitive, according to CQ Politics. Their rating for the race was changed from "Leans Republican" to "No Clear Favorite" today.

Musgrave is as likely to lose her bid for a fourth term as she is to prevail over Democratic nominee Betsy Markey, a businesswoman and former aide to Colorado Democratic Sen. Ken Salazar. Musgrave is trying to extend and Markey is trying to end a long Republican hold in a district that takes in vast parts of northern and eastern Colorado.

The ratings change is prompted by surveys that show a close race, and by Markey’s fundraising, which is better than that of 2006 Democratic nominee Angie Paccione at a similar point in the campaign cycle. Paccione took 43 percent of the vote in a three-way race and held Musgrave to 46 percent, the worst showing for a House winner in the 2006 election.

Democrats have long argued that Musgrave focuses too strongly on her socially conservative views. Musgrave, though, has since her 2006 campaign more vigorously touted her efforts on district-related issues such as water resources and transportation. The Denver Post, which editorially opposed Musgrave in her first three House campaigns, endorsed her 2008 re-election effort, saying on Friday that “Musgrave got the message” after nearly losing her seat and “has worked hard on the Agriculture and Small Business committees and fought to increase exports of Colorado beef and grain.”

Still, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), the well-funded political arm of House Democrats, has begun making independent expenditures in hopes of boosting Markey’s chances in Colorado’s 4th. Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund on Sunday reported spending $665,000 on an independent television ad campaign in opposition to Musgrave. 

And there's also good news for U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.):

While Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama is unlikely to win a district that backed President Bush with 58 percent of the vote in 2004, he is polling competitively enough against Republican rival John McCain statewide to suggest that he could limit his deficit in Colorado’s 4th to single digits.

Politicker.com's Pindell Report currently lists the race as the country's 14th most competitive Congressional race.