McInnis, Bennet biggest winners in local straw polls

U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet and gubernatorial hopeful Scott McInnis won over El Paso County caucus crowds Tuesday night.
Bennet pulled 568 votes compared to 456 for his Democratic rival Andrew Romanoff in a straw poll conducted at caucus meetings that drew 1,200, said Christy Le Lait, executive director of the El Paso County Democratic Party.

Statewide, Romanoff bested Bennet, picking up 11,268 Democratic straw poll votes to Bennet’s 9,221, according to the state Democratic party headquarters.

In El Paso County, McInnis won over 1,512 Republican caucusgoers compared to 779 for his GOP opponent Dan Maes, according to the state Republican headquarters.

The straw polls are a non-binding look at who party members prefer in races. The real decision will be made at party state assembly meetings in May, where delegates picked at the caucuses will be wooed by candidates seeking a spot on the August primary ballot.

The primary will decide candidates for both parties in the Senate race. For governor, the Republican winner in the primary for the GOP will face Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, a Democrat with no primary opposition.

The straw polls leave large local questions unanswered because caucusgoers weren’t asked about contested county races or contests for General Assembly seats. Caucus delegates will pick those candidates in partisan county assembly meetings April 10.

Something tripped up the campaign of the woman once considered the front-runner in the GOP’s bid to claim Bennet’s senate seat.

Jane Norton, a former lieutenant governor, trailed Weld County prosecutor Ken Buck in El Paso County straw polls for the Senate race. She picked up 798 votes against 900 for Buck, the GOP reported on its Web site. Former Douglas County lawmaker Tom Weins picked up 458 votes at the GOP caucuses here in his U.S. Senate effort.

For candidates to move on to the primary ballot through the caucus process, they must pick up more than 30 percent of the delegates at their party’s state convention. Those who don’t pick up 30 percent can run petition drives to claw their way onto the primary ballot.

Turnout at El Paso County caucuses was light compared to 2008 for both parties, when the presidential race drew big crowds.
“It was low compared to two years ago, but that was as expected,” Le Lait said.

Sallie Clark, an El Paso County commissioner who is campaigning for McInnis, said the expected turnout of Republicans energized by the conservative Tea Party and 9/12 movements was under-whelming.

“I don’t think the Tea Parties had a big impact on us,” she said.