Dems Invade Broomfield

The 1stBank Center, usually home to Roller Dolls and rocking bands, is packed full of cheering swarms of Democrats, all eagerly awaiting candidate and politician speeches, delegate voting and words to inspire confidence as they head into the nitty gritty of election season.

Delegates will vote this afternoon in the highly-contentious race between incumbent Sen. Michael Bennet and former Colorado Speaker of the House Andrew Romanoff. Both campaigns are confident about their chances today, and delegates have spent the morning (and the “Half Baked Alaskan” Party last night) debating the two candidates, both of whom have distanced themselves from the seemingly-loathed politics of Washington DC and worked to portray themselves as underdogs.

A blurb on the Wall Street Journal started with “A pair of nominating conventions in Colorado Saturday will test the depth of anti-Washington feeling and the power of party leaders to boost their favorite candidates.”

But in Broomfield, where Democrats have gathered for the state convention, “I’ll Stand by You” played during a photo montage of President Barrack Obama. And the crowd went wild. While support for Romanoff as candidate for US Senate could reflect a national anti-incumbent sentiment, the all-around tone of the event was positive and prideful.

“When you think about that senate race, both of those men are on our team. Their opponents are not on our team,” said Gov. Bill Ritter.

Rep. Diana DeGette, Rep. John Salazar, Rep. Betsy Markey, Denver Mayor and governor candidate John Hickenlooper, Sen. Mark Udall and Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett will all take the stage throughout the morning and early afternoon.