Consider President Obama's latest thirty minute swing through the Denver area last week the preamble to what's expected to be a frenzied two-week melodrama of national and local political theatrics; as after tomorrow's Florida primaries, the GOP field looks west to caucus dates in states like Colorado.
Texas congressman and de facto leader of the contemporary American libertarian movement Ron Paul isn't waiting on Florida. He has two campaign appearances scheduled for Colorado tomorrow, with a morning visit to the Lory Student Center on the campus of Colorado State University in Fort Collins followed by a noon hour rally in Denver. He wraps up the day in Colorado Springs with a speech at the Colorado Jet Center, the Gazette reports. Rick Santorum also has Colorado in his sights, with three stops planned Tuesday and Wednesday south of Denver, according to the Colorado Statesman. The Durango Herald reports that Mitt Romney has a similar trip in mind later this week while Newt Gingrich's plans are up in the air.
Colorado Republicans hold their caucuses February 7th.
Meantime, another nugget that might gain some national attention also occurs tomorrow on the campus of Red Rocks Community College in Lakewood, where Joe Coors will announce his plans to challenge Congressman Ed Perlmutter (D-Golden) in Colorado's 7th Congressional district. Long considered a swing district, Rep. Perlmutter has coasted to victories relatively easily in recent election cycles.
The Coors family's other most recent foray into Colorado politics gained national attention in 2004 when Pete Coors lost to state Attorney General Ken Salazar in a US Senate race. Interestingly in that race, Pete Coors endured a bruising primary battle with Bob Schaeffer, which not unlike the current GOP presidential primary battle, highlighted the sharp divide in the Republican party over social issues, one that's still rather acute in 2012.
This post was edited from an earlier version to reflect the announcement that Rick Santorum is also coming to Colorado Tuesday.
