Rep. Mike Coffman on Tuesday confirmed that fellow Republicans are urging him to run for Senate in Colorado in 2016.
The Republican majority in the Senate could depend on swing state Colorado. Most seats up for election next year are held by Republicans. The handful that could tip the balance of power next year are held by blue state Republicans who won in the 2010 wave. Defending them could be doubly hard with the presidential contest expected to turn many infrequent but reliably Democratic voters out to the polls.
Coffman, who has been successful in a multicultural, suburban Denver swing seat, thrives in these conditions. He could offer Republicans one of their few choices to oust an incumbent Democrat and protect their majority.
“I haven’t decided. A lot of people want me to run but I haven’t made the decision,” Coffman told the Washington Examiner during a brief interview. “I’m focused on running for the House right now.”
Senior Republicans have made initial overtures to Coffman about considering a 2016 Senate bid, multiple GOP sources say.
He was identified in late 2014 as a possible challenger to Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet, following his convincing win in Colorado’s 6th district. The Democrats spent millions trying to defeat Coffman, but he still won with more than 50 percent of the vote. The midterm elections ended up a GOP wave, but Coffman also survived in 2012 despite President Obama’s solid win at the top of the ticket for the Democrats.
Coffman has won statewide office before, serving as Colorado treasurer and secretary of state. But the Republican’s most appealing quality might be his tenacious work ethic. The veteran Marine infantry officer learned to speak Spanish to improve his connections to Hispanics in his district and was dogged about raising money and campaigning. Last cycle, he raised more than $4.7 million, a significant amount even for a targeted House race.
And, because Coffman in the past two elections advertised heavily in the Denver media market, he would begin any Senate campaign as a known quantity. Denver television covers nearly three quarters of the Centennial State. “Coffman has been on TV in the Denver media market two cycles in a row. He has latent name ID,” said a GOP operative who has advised Colorado Republicans.
The NRSC, the Senate Republicans’ campaign committee charged with defending their majority, declined to comment for this story. Committee spokeswoman Andrea Bozek said the NRSC has a policy against discussing recruitment strategy. But that doesn’t extend to opinions of Bennet, whom she called “one of the most vulnerable senators in the country.”
Bozek said Bennet was headed the way of Mark Udall, the incumbent Democrat defeated by GOP Sen. Cory Gardner last November.
Other Republicans warned that Bennet could be a lot tougher to dislodge than Udall.
The Democrat is battle-tested, having survived in the 2010 midterms. He has developed relationships with major party fundraisers through his service last cycle as chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Structurally, he could receive a boost from the top of the ticket. Republicans haven’t won a presidential race in Colorado since 2004.
“Should Mike Coffman run for Senate he is going to have a very hard time defending his record,” DSCC spokeswoman Sadie Weiner said. “We are confident that Michael Bennet will be re-elected because nobody fights harder for Colorado families than him.”
