For Obama, Democrats, Colorado Becomes Less Welcoming

Bennet has a quick mind, and has impressed other Democrats as an innovative and sometimes out-of-the-box thinker. He has worked to learn how to be a politician, traveling the state so constituents can get to know him and raising money as rapidly as he can. Still, given the state of the economy, he is far from secure in his seat, and Republicans see him as a vulnerable target.

"Bennet has not solidified himself as an incumbent senator," said Dick Wadhams, the Colorado Republican Party chairman.

Bennet is preparing for a difficult general-election campaign, but his most immediate problem is a likely primary challenge from Andrew Romanoff, a former speaker of the Colorado House.

Romanoff was a leading candidate for the Salazar vacancy before Ritter tapped Bennet, and other Democrats see his challenge to Bennet as motivated more by personal pique than by principled differences with him. Whatever his motivation, Romanoff creates one more obstacle in Bennet's path as he tries to win his Senate seat outright.

Ritter also has problems. Foremost is the challenge facing every governor this year and next: how to run a state in the middle of a recession that has created a sizable budget deficit.

Colorado's economy is far from the worst in the country, but Ritter, like other governors, has been forced to cut spending. In one of his most unpopular decisions, he has raised the fee for automobile registrations. He also has alienated organized labor. Some critics, including Democrats who will support him, say he has lacked the decisiveness needed in a time of big problems.

For all the edginess among Democrats, Republicans have their own hurdles. Their party faces primary contests for both governor and Senate. Republicans here must resolve some of the ideological schisms that reflect broader divisions nationally. Demographic and other changes have given the Democrats parity with Republicans in party registration, with the state now divided almost evenly among Republicans, Democrats and unaffiliated voters.

Although Colorado has shifted from red to almost solidly blue in its representation, it remains a purple state politically, especially given the size of the unaffiliated vote, which can shift with the tides. Some strategists say Democrats may have reached their high-water mark in 2008. What happens over the next 14 months will show whether they can consolidate and solidify those earlier victories, or whether Republicans can begin their comeback.