Jody Hope Strogoff

There was a time when Colorado was largely an afterthought when it came to the race for the White House. But this week it seems that the very center of Government will be in Denver with candidate visits, a nationally televised debate – and just about every surrogate one can think of campaigning on behalf of Mitt Romney or President Obama.

This year’s Democratic National Convention is more than 1,500 miles away from Denver, but Colorado’s imprint is clearly visible during the gathering in North Carolina.

Mitt Romney was officially nominated as the Republican Presidential Candidate at the party’s convention in Tampa on Tuesday. But the vote from Colorado’s 36 delegates was not unanimous.

At this time next week the Republican National Convention will be in full swing in Tampa, Florida. Almost 70 delegates from Colorado will make that trip. But right now, not all are fully committed to supporting Mitt Romney.

Republican Vice-Presidential candidate Paul Ryan holds a public campaign rally in Lakewood this morning. Both parties see Colorado as a state that is very much in play.