National Democrats want to make this election about the past, but elections are almost always a referendum on the present, that is unless the candidates on hand have gone out of their way to make themselves truly unacceptable. This election is a vivid reminder that who the candidates are still matters, at least when they are as clearly flawed as some of the Republicans running this year.

According to Colorado state law, a party’s candidate for governor must get over 10 percent of the vote to retain the legal status of a major party. If Maes fails to cross that threshold, the Republican Party in Colorado would be demoted to minor party status. At only 13 percent, this is the lowest Maes has been in the polls. The general trend of all polling has Maes steadily losing support as the right-leaning vote coalesces around Tom Tancredo, who is running on the American Constitution Party ticket. Although the chance is probably remote, there is at least a possibility that Maes could fail to get 10 percent in the general election.

John Hickenlooper, Mayor of Denver and Democratic nominee for Governor of Colorado, may be the single luckiest Democrat running for office this year. Only a few months ago, it looked like he was going to face a very tough election against a solid Republican candidate, Scott McInnis, in a bad political climate for Democrats. Polling [...]

The important election news so far tonight.

Tonight is one of the biggest nights remaining on the primary calendar, with primaries in Colorado, Connecticut, and Minnesota. There also is a primary runoff in Georgia. All four states feature important contests at the top spots on their ballots.