Tuesday morning, at least a dozen Democrats looked in the mirror and saw the next U.S. senator from Colorado. Trouble is, all but one of them were seeing things.
With the announcement the state's senior senator is President-elect Barack Obama's pick to be the next secretary of interior, it falls on Gov. Bill Ritter to name Sen. Ken Salazar's replacement. Within hours of news leaking that Salazar would give up his Senate seat, the names of prominent — and not-so-prominent — Democrats emerged. Some are serious contenders, some would be top picks under different circumstances, and a few, like Academy Award hopefuls, are happy just to be nominated.