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Sen. Udall stops in Durango

Incumbent visits 6 days before Election Day
U.S. Sen. Mark Udall paid a quick visit to supporters Wednesday afternoon atop the Crossroads Building at Main Avenue and 11th Street.

U.S. Sen. Mark Udall told 70 people who gathered to hear him speak atop the Crossroads Building on Wednesday afternoon that it’s imperative Democrats in Durango and La Plata County work to get out the vote.

The visit was part of a marathon, last-minute tour of the state, in which Udall is desperately trying to capture the advantage in a tight race against his Republican opponent, U.S. Rep. Cory Gardener.

A day after MSNBC host Rachel Maddow ribbed Udall for his grim visage, Udall was grinning as he posed for selfies with local supporters.

But his tone got tense when the topic turned to the topic of the day: getting out the vote.

“You all don’t have to be told the race is neck-and-neck,” he said.

“And the majority in the Senate will probably be determined by what happens here. I’m here barnstorming the state. Every vote counts,” he said.

He said with mail-in ballots, “the kitchen table is your voting booth,” and turnout is likely to match turnout in 2012, a presidential election year.

Already, he said, 900,000 Coloradoans had voted, whereas at this time in the last election cycle, only 600,000 had cast their ballots.

Udall – and every Democrat staffer and volunteer in attendance – emphasized that it’s too late to mail ballots. They should be dropped off by hand.

He said the Koch brothers, he referred to them as “AFP - Americans For Plutocracy,” had knocked on 145,000 doors in Colorado.

“We knocked on 145,000 last week!” Udall said.

Udall’s spokesman, James Owens, likewise took a bullish position on Democrats’ GOTV efforts throughout the state, saying, “it’s the largest operation in Colorado’s history. It’s twice as big as (U.S. Sen. Michael) Bennet’s was in 2012, and Bennet’s was the biggest in history then. We love him, but we really outdid him.”

For Democrats, the entire margin of the election rests on turning out voters. But it’s unclear whether Democrats’ formidable get-out-the vote machinery in Colorado – though well-oiled and replete with more moving parts than ever before – can vault Udall over the finish line when outside groups have funneled so much lucre into the race.

As of Oct. 26, Republican and Democratic outside groups and special interests had dropped $56 million on the contest between Udall and Gardener.

Asked what he thought about the tsunami of cash – much of it dark money – washing through his race, Udall said it was overwhelming.

“There’s a lot of outside money,” his said. “It’s probably the only topic on which my opponent and I agree.”

He said though both he and Gardener would prefer a “fair fight,” the money streaming into the race from Karl Rove’s super PAC and the Koch brothers’ deep, partisan pockets is impossible to ignore.

He said two weeks ago, 13 TV ads about him aired in a single day.

But Udall said overall, the process of campaigning, meeting people across the state, and traveling Colorado’s gorgeous counties is mostly delightful, “aside from the TV ads,” he said.

Udall’s spiel energized at least one woman working for his re-election.

Volunteer Bonnie Cabrera said she volunteers for Udall because he seems “real, not slick like some politicians in Washington who have their eyes on the White House. He’s a real nice guy, a Colorado guy, who does Outward Bound,” she said.

cmcallister@durangoherald.com



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