Colorado Gagged In Presidential Selection Process

There has been a lot of talk about having a “super presidential primary” in the Rocky Mountain States in February of 2008, but until the Colorado legislature reinstates a statewide presidential primary process, Colorado will not be able to participate.Back in 2003, Senate Bill 188 eliminated the February presidential primaries in Colorado because of pre-Referendum C budget woes and most likely because the Republican-led legislators felt no need to participate in a primary process with President Bush at the helm. Sure it saved $2.2 million in 2004, but it also eliminated Colorado’s voice in selecting future presidential candidates.

Now, Colorado has a caucus presidential selection process. For both the Democratic and Republican Parties in Colorado that means that a presidential candidate preference will not be determined until the two parties hold their state conventions, usually in June of a presidential election year and well after most states have held their presidential primaries or caucuses to determine the presidential candidate. In other words, Colorado political parties will have no say-so on who will be the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates in 2008 unless the legislature changes the SB 03-188 ruling in 2007.