Is Andrew Romanoff running against Michael Bennet and Barack Obama?

Senator Michael Bennet's appointment to a plum Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee seat once filled by the late Ted Kennedy is widely seen as more indication that President Barack Obama really, really wants him to hold serve in the 2010 election. But if Andrew Romanoff shares this view, his...

By Michael Roberts

September 30, 2009

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Senator Michael Bennet's appointment to a plum Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee seat once filled by the late Ted Kennedy is widely seen as more indication that President Barack Obama really, really wants him to hold serve in the 2010 election. But if Andrew Romanoff shares this view, his campaign isn't interested in offering confirmation. "We don't have any comments" on the subject, says Romanoff spokeswoman Joelle Martinez. "We're not looking at that right now. We're focused on our campaign." When asked if Romanoff sometimes feels he's taking on both Bennet and the leader of the free world, Martinez does conceded that "there's a lot of attention on the campaign nationally and locally." However, she goes on, "We got into this race because we believe Coloradans should vote for Colorado's senator, and their support is what we're working for."

Today marks the end of the current quarter, which means Romanoff and company need to complete all of their fundraising paperwork by day's end. However, Martinez shies away from characterizing the amount of donations coming in, saying only that "I won't have a report until later today," then adding that she's not sure how or when the information will be made public. "I deal with the media," she explains. "I don't have a direct hand in the fundraising efforts."

Guess she doesn't spend her free time working the phones.

In the meantime, Martinez confirms that plans are being made for Romanoff to head off to the hinterlands again for much of October and November. "He's been to all the counties in the state already," she says, "but we're in the planning stages of another statewide tour. We're going to get out there again and make another run-by."

Next stop, Elbert County.

Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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