With Congress in recess, Rep. Doug Lamborn is back in his home district. Coincidentally, 120,000 mail ballots were sent out recently.

Could it be the race in the 5th Congressional District is finally heating up?

Lamborn, a Republican seeking his second term, is being challenged by Democrat Hal Bidlack, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel. Both are from Colorado Springs.

Lamborn recently mailed out campaign ads to 20,000 mailboxes, a big push "designed to reach the homes of the voters just before the mail-in ballots are sent out," Lamborn's campaign manager Robin Coran told www.PolitickerCo.com.

Lamborn could not be reached for comment, but another campaign aide, Catherine Mortensen, told The Gazette, "The congressman is focusing his energies on keeping in touch with the voters in these final weeks of the election."

She also said Lamborn had received 2,000 e-mails and phone calls from constituents after he voted against the bailout bill, demonstrating he keeps in touch with the district.

Bidlack also is mindful that those who ask for mail ballots usually vote.

In El Paso County, 89 percent of those asking for mail ballots voted in the 2006 election and 95 percent voted in the 2004 presidential election.

Instead of doing a big mailing, Bidlack is going on the air.

"Because of the tremendous numbers of folks expected to vote by mail, we started our TV advertisements this week," Bidlack said. One ad introduces voters to Bidlack, he said, while the other draws a contrast between the two candidates.

The Bidlack campaign took a jab at Lamborn in a press release for his campaign mailing, noting 20,000 is only a fraction of the district's more than 650,000 residents.

The campaign also noted in the release Lamborn mailed 420,000 letters to district voters in the last three months of 2007, about 1.4 letters per address. The postage on the letters cost taxpayers $135,000 in 2007, the Bidlack campaign said, nearly as much as the total spent by the rest of the Colorado delegation combined.

Lamborn has repeatedly said the mailings allow him to report to his constituents and stay in touch with them.

Despite Lamborn's state willingness to debate his opponent, the only one scheduled so far is on Oct. 30 in Falcon, long after early votes have been case.

Unless you count Lamborn's plan to meet Bidlack for coffee on Monday.

Bidlack is carrying a cardboard cutout of Lamborn to his campaign appearances "to make the point he won't show up to talk to the voters about the future," Bidlack said.

Lamborn's campaign noted his endorsements include: Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce, Concerned Women for America, Family Research Council Action, Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, National Federation of Independent Business, National Rifle Association, National Right to Life,

Networking in Christ, Republicans for Life and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

For more, www.lambornforcongress.org.

Bidlack noted he has received an "A" from the NRA, which uses a questionnaire to score candidates who haven't served in Congress and haven't voted on gun-rights issues.

Bidlack was endorsed on Sunday by The Denver Post, which noted he is "far from a liberal" and that Lamborn "hasn't distinguished himself" in his first term.

Bidlack also is endorsed by fellow Democrats Gov. Bill Ritter, Sen. Ken Salazar and Rep. John Salazar and several labor unions and veterans groups. For more, www.votehal.com