Republican Primary Primer: HD-23

There are 65 seats for state representatives in Colorado, and all of them are on the ballot every two years. Of course, not all 65 races are equal in importance every two years, because some districts are overwhelmingly Republican or Democrat in their voter registration, and some districts have a firmly-entrenched incumbent already in place.

One of the top three most highly-contested seats in Colorado in 2006 is in House District 23 (Golden, Lakewood), where the voter registration numbers are almost evenly divided among Republicans, Democrats and Unaffiliated voters; this seat is so competitive, in fact, that it has switched hands every two years for the past decade. In 2004, Democrat Gwyn Green beat then-incumbent Republican Ramey Johnson by just 48 votes in a race that was so close that ballots were still being recount more than a week after the election.
Johnson is back