Democratic Rep. Ed Perlmutter officially announced his bid for Colorado governor over the weekend, shaking up both the race for governor and the race for his own congressional seat in 2018.
Perlmutter said he would run on lowering housing costs in the state, improving transportation and building support for Colorado industries, including aerospace and renewable energy, reports The Denver Post. “I have a lot of ideas, but I want to hear from people from across the state,” he said.
The Democratic field for governor is already pretty crowded. Businessman Noel Ginsburg, former state Sen. Mike Johnston, and County Commissioner Lew Gaiter III are already running on the Democrat side. And state Rep. Victor Mitchell and District Attorney George Brauchler have already announced on the Republican side. The race was already determined to be a tough one for the Democratic Party, and the multiple candidates on their side of the primary promise an expensive and long deciding process that could hinder their candidate’s general election race.
Perlmutter’s announcement will also shake up the race to replace him in 2018. Perlmutter served in the House of Representatives since 2007, but won with a 10 percent lead in 2014, and 15 percent lead in 2016. It’s possible that a Republican could take advantage of the open seat in 2018.
No Democrats or Republicans announced they plan to run for Perlmutter’s now empty seat, but name recognition is sure to be low for any Democrat who attempts to fill the seat.
Republicans were able to only win 45 percent of the vote, but that number was based on only $300,000 in total spending for the race, and Perlmutter spent more than $2 million to hold his 55 percent.
The University of Virginia’s Center for Politics didn’t rate Colorado’s 7th congressional race as competitive, but given the drastic change in the race, and the amount of money Perlmutter spent to win the last election cycle, that number is likely to change.
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