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Mudslinging Fierce In Colorado Senate Race Between Ken Buck, Michael Bennet

Sara Ramsey |
October 29, 2010 | 3:20 p.m. PDT

Staff Reporter

Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet. (Creative Commons)
Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet. (Creative Commons)
California is not the only state facing a tough decision on Tuesday. 

The deadlocked Senate race in Colorado between GOP challenger Ken Buck and incumbent Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet will play a huge role in deciding which party will control the U.S. Senate come election day.

Jamie Jacoby, an employee of Full Cycle Colorado and a Boulder, Colo. resident, believes the race comes down to “choosing the lesser of two evils.” 

Both Buck and Bennet’s campaigns, supported by the Tea Party and Obama Administration respectively, are riddled with negative advertising, bashing each other on all sides including homosexuality, abortion and economic stances.

“Negative campaigning is always a bad way to go. But it’s hard for the person to rise above. It can get dirty and the other person feels like they have to fire back,” Jacoby said.

Although negative campaigning is not a fundamental issue, it has become one of the most talked about aspects in many midterm elections.

Californian’s have experienced this in the massive amounts of mudslinging taking place between Republican Carly Fiorina and Democratic incumbent Barbara Boxer and on an even grander scale in the gubernatorial race between Republican Meg Whitman and Democrat Jerry Brown. In both cases, Californians are left to choose between two candidates they may be unsure about.

Jacoby sees the same dilemma in Colorado.

“You only get two choices, two people that really stand a chance to win and you have got to choose the lesser of two evils,” Jacoby believes. “Buck is the bigger of those two evils. I’m from Boulder and I think I can speak for some of the people of Boulder in saying we will be voting for Bennet.”

Democrats will need to make a big push, garnering as many votes as possible to hold on to their senatorial control. Jacoby thinks they may have a problem doing so.

People aren’t satisfied with the big Democrats, so people will try and change it in the midterms.

Reach contributor Sara Ramsey here.



 

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