Republican Rep. Mike Coffman
Democrats have been looking to target Republican incumbent Mike Coffman in his competitive suburban Denver seat, and they got their candidate on Tuesday. State Senate Minority Leader Morgan Carroll, whom the DCCC has been
working to recruit, announced that
she'll jump in the race.
President Obama won this district, which includes Aurora and Centennial, by a 52-47 margin, but Coffman has proven to be tough to dislodge. The incumbent turned back an underfunded challenge from then-state Rep. Joe Miklosi 48-46 in 2012, and decisively beat ex-state House Speaker Andrew Romanoff 52-43 during last year's GOP wave. Coffman raised plenty of money last time and he'll have plenty of outside support against Carroll.
However, while both parties acknowledge that Coffman is a strong candidate (the GOP unsuccessfully tried to recruit him to run for Senate this cycle), he occasionally lets his mouth do his thinking for him. Back in 2012, Coffman questioned whether Obama was born in the United States, and he recently made some strange wisecracks about ISIS running the VA. Coffman kept his worst nature in check last year, but Democrats will be looking for anything they can exploit.
Unlike the Denver-based Miklosi and Romanoff, Carroll is actually from the district, so Coffman won't be able to use the dreaded carpetbagger label against her. Carroll is also a respected fundraiser who might have what it takes to go toe-to-toe with the congressman. But the GOP thinks they can gain some ground by hitting Carroll's voting record in the legislature. Carroll opposed a measure aimed at toughening sanctions on online child predators and voted for a tax increase. Coffman didn't hesitate to attack Miklosi over his opposition to the former bill, and he's unlikely to pull any punches this time either.
Carroll already has the support of EMILY's List and it doesn't look like she'll face any credible primary opposition. Centennial Councilor Rebecca McClellan was touted as a backup option if Carroll declined, but she probably won't go for it now; ex-state Rep. Ed Caso talked about running a few months ago but never took any serious steps towards forming a campaign. But beating Coffman isn't going to be easy, and both parties are expected to fight hard for this district. The 2014 contest was one of the most expensive in the nation, and this one may be even more intense.