Since Democrats wrested control of the state Senate in 2004 for only the second time in more than 40 years, they’ve often been hesitant to wield their authority.

But that might change next year, when Brandon Shaffer takes over as president of the Colorado Senate. Last month, Shaffer was unanimously elected by his Democratic colleagues to succeed Peter Groff, who’s leaving to take a job with the Obama administration.

Shaffer, a Longmont attorney, was first elected to the Senate in 2004–meaning that unlike Groff and his predecessor, Joan Fitz-Gerald, Shaffer has no experience being in the minority party. And those memories of serving under Republican control have sometimes restrained Democratic senators from taking action, he says. (more…)

This spring, the Colorado State Legislature will welcome at least five new members to its ranks. And none of them will have been elected by the general public.

Instead, they’ll be picked by a vacancy committee, composed of a handful of activists from their own political parties, to finish out the terms of legislators who have left their seats.

It’s a system that has sent anti-tax champion and blunder-prone curmudgeon Douglas Bruce (pictured) to the Statehouse. It’s also how House Speaker Terrance Carroll and well-regarded former state Representative Rob Witwer launched their legislative careers. (more…)

At the Douglas County Republicans’ annual Lincoln Day dinner last month, many of the Colorado Republican Party’s current political A-listers and up-and-comers mingled in the large atrium of the Wildlife Experience in Parker making small talk.

Cleve Tidwell was making conversation, too. But interspersed with the usual banter about current events, family, and future political plans, Tidwell casually mentioned activities you wouldn’t expect of a novice U.S. Senate candidate–such as his recent meeting with the vice president of Honduras, where up until two years ago he was managing director of a coffee plantation.

Cleve (his given name; not an abbreviation) is one of the most interesting candidates for U.S. Senate in Colorado, even if he’s not one of the most likely to win. (more…)

Four months ago, Colorado won national media attention for becoming the first state to have African-Americans at the head of both houses of the state Legislature.

But soon enough, both Senate President Peter Groff and House Speaker Terrance Carroll–the only two African-Americans currently serving in the Legislature–will be gone.

And changing demographics in traditionally black legislative districts bring questions about whether African-Americans will continue to have a voice in state government. (more…)

The Ron Paul revolution is still a work in progress in Colorado.

Certainly the libertarian (small “L”) movement led by the Texas congressman has made real (albeit small) gains in the state–and within the Colorado Republican Party.

Paul won 9 percent of the vote in the February 2008 Colorado Republican presidential caucus. And several Republican candidates–most notably First Congressional District nominee George Lilly–were disciples of Paul (pictured).

But parlaying those gains into greater power over the state Republican Party has proved, so far, unsuccessful for Paul’s supporters.

The Ron Paul delegates to the state Republican convention last year were much louder than they were effective. And when a lot of rank-and-file Republicans in Colorado hear of a “Ron Paul Republican,” they still think of someone who’s passionate, a little kooky, and politically impotent.

And yet the battle continues. (more…)

The most prominent headlines to come from this weekend’s biennial state Republican Party meeting have to do with Dick Wadhams being overwhelmingly re-elected party chair. But the party faithful weren’t focused on Wadhams.

During Friday night’s dinner at the Denver Marriott South, the state’s 750-or-so leading Republicans monitored (and overanalyzed) the actions of next year’s likely candidates for governor and U.S. Senate.

Who seemed to be working the tables? (Answer: likely U.S. Senate candidate Ryan Frazier, probable gubernatorial candidates Scott McInnis and Josh Penry, and anticipated Fourth Congressional District candidate Cory Gardner and his wife, among others.) And why did Scott McInnis choose to withdraw his name from the list of after-dinner speakers? (Humanity may never fully learn the true story.)

To play on the evening’s theme of rebuilding, small yellow construction hats (made in China) were set on each table to remind diners that the primary focus of the Colorado Republican Party now is to stop losing.

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A few freshmen legislators are turning some heads at the state Capitol this session.

Here’s a rundown of who they are and what they’ve done to get noticed.

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