Coffman, Romanoff Shed Light On Why Their Race Is So Competitive
DENVER (CBS4) - Colorado's congressional district 6 is one of the most highly competitive in the country. By the third week of October, outside groups had poured more than $7.5 million into spending on the race.
During a recent Colorado Public Television 12 debate between Republican incumbent Mike Coffman and Democratic challenger Andrew Romanoff, moderator Dominic Dezzutti quizzed the candidates on why they believed the race has attracted so much money.
The pair did agree one thing: the seat is simply competitive.
"I suspect they know there are very few competitive congressional races in America anymore," said Romanoff. "There are only a handful of seats that are evenly divided."
Coffman agreed with that assessment but went farther on Romanoff's candidacy.
"I think the fact there are so few competitive seats out there. Nancy Pelosi recruited Andrew Romanoff to move into my hometown and run for this district," he said. "So they have put millions of dollars behind him as conservatives have put money behind my race."
"But I think it's pivotal in terms of the direction of the country. Nancy Pelosi wants to return to us back to what former Speaker Romanoff and Nancy Pelosi would call the good old days where one party controls all of the levers of government in Washington, D.C.
"They are able to move through major policy like Obamacare without a single Republican vote. I don't think we can let that happen."
DOMINIC DEZZUTTI'S BLOG: Spicy, Meaty and Hearty: The CD6 Debate
Romanoff pointed to his record as former Speaker of the House in Colorado.
"What this district deserves is a representative with the ability to work across the aisle, to bring people together, to get things done. That's what I did as the Speaker of the House."
The district was redrawn after the 2010 Census moving parts of Democratic-leaning Aurora into the district.
