Andrew Romanoff won big today at the Colorado State Democratic Convention. He defeated his opponent, Sen. Michael Bennet, by 60.4% to 39.6%.
Roughly 4000 Democrats were present for the convention which was held at the FirstBank Center in Broomfield. The results were not a surprise since all delegates had previously been elected at precinct and county conventions as either Romanoff or Bennet supporters.
It should be noted, however, that Romanoff ran slightly better at the state convention than would have been indicated by his delegate count at the county caucuses, a feat he also achieved at the county conventions which followed upon the precinct caucuses. If delegates switch--which they can do, though it's rare--they switch to Romanoff.
Each candidate was allotted 20 minutes to make their case. That was to include introductory video, nomination, second, speech, and demonstration. Both videos were good--Andrew's is below. Both candidates, incidentally, are descendents of Polish immigrants.
In fact, each campaign took the exact same approach, down to and including a nomination from the floor (not the podium), walking through the convention as a man of the people (and not coming to the podium from off-stage), and having a coterie of followers behind them holding signs while they made their speeches.
Romanoff spoke first. In commenting on the recent primaries in Arkansas and Pennsylvania, he said that their message to Democrats was "to stiffen your spines or step out of the way," a line which garnered the most applause of the day.
He went on to criticize corporate cash in politics, citing, in particular, the corporate cash that eliminated the public option from consideration in the recent health care reform act. In recent days, Romanoff has been hitting this angle particularly hard, usually noting, though he didn't today, that his opponent has received campaign contributions from all six of the banks dubbed "too big to fail."
In one word, Romanoff's speech was riveting. He compells your attention. He is not a particularly accomplished public speaker--when he gets that down, look out--but he does have a way of conveying urgency and drawing in his listeners. He quietly inspires.
Michael Bennet gave a fine speech as well, and was rather more animated than I've seen him in the past. He wrapped himself in the recent successes of the administration, as one might expect. It was interesting to hear him mention the bank reform bill which recently passed the Senate. Though he voted for it, he voted against one of the tougher amendments--Brown/Kaufman--which would have capped the size of banks.
Winning the state convention gets you "bragging rights" and top line on the ballot. The Bennet campaign is reminding people that, historically, several candidates have been second on the ballot and won the primary. Some have said that the state convention is composed only of "party activists" who, supposedly, think differently than the rank-and-file.
Yes, a few years ago, Mike Miles won the state convention over Ken Salazar, and Ken Salazar went on to win the August primary with 70% of the vote. He went on to become Senator and, now, Secretary of the Interior.
That, however, was then. This is now. Andrew Romanoff is not Mike Miles, and Michael Bennet is not, so far as we know, the vote-getting juggarnaut whose name is Ken Salazar.
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