COLORADO
      Nov. 2, 2010 U.S. Senate

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+Michael Bennet (D) i
854,685
 		48.08%
Ken Buck (R)
 		824,789
 		46.40%
Bob Kinsey (G)
 		38,884
 		2.19%
Maclyn "Mac" Stringer (L)
 		22,646
 		1.27%
Jason Napolitano (IRP)
 		19,450
 		1.09%
Charley Miller (Unaff.)
 		11,351
 		0.64%
J. Moromisato (Unaff.)
 		5,780
 		0.33%
three others
 		83

1,777,668
Active Voters: 2,477,958.  Ballots Cast: 1,821,028.
Plurality: 29,896 votes (1.68 percentage points).
 CO Secretary of State


Notes: Sen. Michael Bennett (D), appointed to the Senate by Gov. Bill Ritter in Jan. 2009 after Sen. Ken Salazar left to serve in the Obama administration, won a full term, achieving a narrow victory over Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck (R) in a closely watched race.

Both major parties saw competitive primaries on Aug. 10 (1,2,3; >).  Bennet defeated former Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff by 184,714 votes (54.2%) to 156,419 votes (45.9%) with 341,133 votes tallied.  Buck, backed by the Tea Party, defeated former Lt. Gov. Jane Norton by 211,099 votes (51.6%) to 198,231 votes (48.4%) with 409,330 votes tallied.

Bennet and Buck participated in their first general election debate, hosted by Club 20, in Grand Junction on Sept. 11 (>).  Other debates included Colorado Springs on Sept. 17;  at the University of Colorado Denver on Oct. 11; a nationally televised debate on "Meet the Press" on Oct. 17 (>); and a final debate hosted by Colorado Public TV 12 and CBS4 in Denver on Oct. 23 (>).

The Bennet campaign vastly outspent the Buck campaign.  Open Secrets reports the Bennet campaign spent $13.1 million compared to $4.8 million for the Buck campaign (>).  There was also substantial outside spending totaling $36.7 million, including nine groups that invested more than $1 million.  Top spenders included the DSCC ($8.5 million), NEA Advocacy Fund ($1.9 million), AFSCME ($1.2 million) and Campaign Money Watch ($1.1 million), and on the Republican side the NRSC ($6.7 million), American  Crossroads ($6.0 milllion), US Chamber of Commerce ($2.1 million), and Americans for Job Security ($1.2 million) and Club for Growth Action ($1.0 million).


Campaign Managers:
Michael Bennet:  Craig Hughes
Managing director at RBI Strategies; started working at RBI in 1987 as an intern and has been involved in numerous campaigns.  Colorado senior advisor Barack Obama's 2008 campaign.  Eastern political director in the Clinton White House from 1998-2000.  One of the earliest staff members hired for the Clinton for President campaign in 1991, and subsequently worked for both Clinton/Gore campaigns as well as the DNC. 
 
Ken Buck:  John Swartout
(announced Aug. 16, 2010 succeeding Kay Rendleman, who moved to consultant role)  Experience includes executive director of Great Outdoors Colorado, appointed Dec. 2003.  Senior advisor to Gov. Bill Owens.  Worked for Sen. Wayne Allard.

...Kay Rendleman
(May 2010...appointment reported by the Greeley Tribune on May 7, 2010)  Rendleman left her position as chair of the El Paso County Republican Party to join the campaign.   Worked in Colorado since 2002.  Staffer on Ronald Reagan's 1980 California presidential primary campaign, then a California regional field staffer in the general election.




 See also:
Malissa Candland.  "2010 Colorado Senate Race: How Bennet Defeated Buck"  Inquiries,  2011, Vol. 3 No. 03.

Kirk Johnson.  "Small Efforts Add Up in Colorado Senate Race."  The New York Times, Oct. 26, 2010.

David Catanese.  "Buck gets the 'kitchen sink.'"  Politico, Oct. 26, 2010.




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