Sunday, November 05, 2006
Briefly noted
WE’VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com
U.S. News has a brief item saying that New York is “back in contention” to host the 2008 Democratic National Convention. This is a bit strange, since I don’t think New York was ever out of contention, but here’s what they wrote:
Sorry, Denver, but the Big Apple is back in contention for the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Of the two finalists, pols thought that Denver offered a better chance to woo the Midwest and mountain states. But now we hear that party bigwigs are seriously sizing up New York City, probably because it offers more hotel space and transportation.
New York has always had more hotel space, and I’m not sure what “more” transportation is, and whether that is a good thing or not. Like I said, a strange report.
Meanwhile, the Denver Post notes that key elections this week could affect Denver’s bid:
If the 2006 election results continue this trend of converting the Rockies to a two-party battleground there could be profound consequences for politics and policy. One immediate result of particular interest here would be to improve the chances of Denver being chosen to host the 2008 Democratic convention – an honor that could symbolize and accelerate the West’s political evolution.
There are 4 races of interest in Colorado. Bill Ritter is heavily favored to win for Governor, and in CO-7, Ed Pelmutter is favored to take over the seat of Ritter’s opponent, Bob Beauprez. In CO-4 and CO-5, Democrats are hoping to defeat Republican incumbents. If the Democrats just win the Governor and CO-7 races, that would probably have little effect on the convention bid. But if they also pick off CO-4 and CO-5, that would show great strength for the Colorado Democratic party, and could only help. And conversely, losing in CO-7, and, in the worst case, the Governor’s race, would not be a good sign for the bid. We’ll know these results in a couple of days.
Update: Well the Boston Globe thinks it comes down to the Governor’s race:
Denver is a finalist to host the 2008 Democratic National Convention, and Western lawmakers believe the Mile-High City will win the competition if Colorado elects a Democratic governor today.
Don’t forget to vote.
Posted by Matt at 9:13 PM 
Matt, you could easily expand this analysis of a run in the West to include other adjacent states. A solid showing in Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico in key districts might create an even stronger case that a Western focus makes sense to Chairman Dean and his closest advisors.