In anticipation of Steve Johnson winning his bid to be a Larimer County Commissioner, Mike Lynch has mailed local Republicans asking for their support of him in replacing Johnson.
However, Larimer County received 40,000 new registrations since July with a vast majority being Democrat or unaffiliated. Will a surge of CSU students registering to vote for Obama impact county races? See the full story at LovelandPolitics.com.
In the Senate, Johnson carried the most divisive legislation to come along in Colorado in decades for Republicans, Referendum C. Ref C gutted the Taxpayer Bill of Rights to increase funding for a variety of causes by halting tax refunds for 5 yrs, effectively increasing taxes without a formal tax increase. Johnson recently pushed the constitutional amendment that would make Ref C permanent. As a result of both, he is loved by “big gov’t Republicans”, reviled by Republican fiscal conservatives, and generally liked by Democrats. His opponent, Randy Eubanks, is a generally affable guy who has worked hard in his appointed position, and is considered a centrist. Thus, both candidates for the county commission are palatable to Democrats, while neither is ideal for all Republicans. Johnson’s high name recognition, likable personality & reputation as one who “reaches across the aisle” may carry the day. The aforementioned Democrat registration drive could also carry the day, if those who come to the polls to vote for Obama vote Democrat all the way down the ballot. We’ll see soon enough on Tuesday.
Sen. Johnson, while overall a moderate legislator, does vote his party quite often. The most unfortunate vote of his career in the Senate was his support of Karl Rove’s midnight gerrymander. Fortunately, this was thrown out in court.
Other than that vote, he is quite palatable to this Democrat. That being said, I believe Randy Eubanks is the better choice for Larimer County.
I think whoever has to fill Johnson’s shoes in the Senate (now or in 2 years) will face a serious challenge.
Enough said. As Eric notes, Johnson “is quite palatable to this Democrat”. Johnson’s proclivity to raise fees & taxes on all for someone’s version of a worthwhile cause makes him likeable to Dems, but splits the Reps. Maybe that’s another reason the Dems like him so much.