Romanoff’s track record is a difference

02/18/2010 - National Journal (The Hotline) - Remember when the key to a Dem WH and "permanent" majority ran through the West? When he stumps for Sen. Bennet in CO today, Pres. Obama will learn how tough it can be to keep those '08 "change" voters from voting against the new "status quo."

-- Bennet's got the worst of both worlds. On one hand, his profile (policy wonk who isn't part of the trad'l culture) is a great fit for this anti-establishment enviro. But he's been part of DC long enough to be blamed for its dysfunction. Meanwhile, his lack of familiarity w/CO voters makes it easier for the GOP to portray him in as unflattering a light as possible.

-- Can Andrew Romanoff benefit from Bennet's conundrum in the Dem primary? As a longtime legislator, Romanoff's no "outsider". But as Marco Rubio, Scott Brown and Rick Perry have shown, being in state gov't doesn't preclude one from wearing the anti-establishment label. Meanwhile, he's got a track record in CO for actually being a bipartisan deal-maker. In a year where voters want results, Romanoff has something to point to.

-- What Romanoff lacks in terms of ideological differences w/Bennet, he may be able to make up in the "electability" argument. Plus, in a low turn-out primary, grassroots familiarity trumps nat'l influence. In many ways, the worse the enviro looks for Obama, the better the chances for a Romanoff upset.