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Sen. Roberts stands alone on ballot

Democrats fail to find a ‘qualified candidate’
Roberts

DENVER – State Sen. Ellen Roberts, R-Durango, will enter the November election without a named opponent on the ballot.

Colorado Democratic Party officials confirmed Monday that the party is not fielding a candidate against Roberts in Senate District 6. The Secretary of State’s office does not list any minor-party or unaffiliated candidates, either.

The deadline to put a candidate’s name on the ballot has passed, although anyone can run as a write-in candidate. That means Roberts will be the only name on the ballot for Southwest Colorado’s Senate seat.

“Sadly, we were unable to find a qualified candidate to run against Ellen Roberts, who we can occasionally work across the aisle with,” said Andrew Short, executive director of the Colorado Democratic Senate Campaign Fund.

Short said the party’s focus will be on defeating “extremist” senators George Rivera and Bernie Herpin, who ousted two Democratic senators in recall elections last year, as well as defending Sen. Jeanne Nicholson, D-Black Hawk, against a challenge by former Sen. Tim Neville.

Roberts said she was delighted to hear she will run unopposed.

“These things are never easy, and it’s something we’ve been working on for a year in advance,” she said.

Now, her campaign team can relax, she said.

Roberts is running for her second and final four-year term in the Senate. She was elected to the chamber in 2010 after serving four years in the House.

It’s not unusual for a major party to not field a candidate in districts dominated by the other party. However, until Roberts was elected, Democrats had held District 6 since 1999.

District 6 is one of the state’s largest Senate districts, covering Archuleta, La Plata, Montezuma, San Juan, Dolores, Montrose, Ouray and San Miguel counties.

jhanel@durangoherald.com



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