The Democrats' mission in Denver was simple: Win the West, and
in the process, the White House.
It was
no accident, of course, that Democrats picked Colorado for
their convention and promised to pull out the stops in
featuring Western leaders, Western issues and appealing to the
Western way of life.
Democrats say it
was mission accomplished.
"The
convention was successful in showcasing the West and Western
issues and will help ensure that going forward both will
continue to be a priority for the Democratic Party," New
Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said in a statement. "I expect the
Obama campaign will . . . build on this momentum heading into
the November election."
But even before
the giddy conventioneers left Denver, the electoral math was
turned upside down when Sen. John McCain picked Alaska Gov.
Sarah Palin as his running mate. Republicans say she speaks
the language of the West and will be a hit with its
swing-state voters.
Three Mountain West
states - New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada - are seen as prime
battlegrounds that could go either way. Add in Montana, where
Obama and McCain are polling even, and the Mountain West
states have more electoral votes up for grabs than the
heralded battlegrounds of Ohio or Pennsylvania.
"Both of these parties have made
Western states a priority," said Ryan Erwin, who has worked on
Republican campaigns throughout the region and was a senior adviser to Mitt Romney's
campaign in Nevada. "Candidates are going to be forced to pay
attention to the issues that matter in the West, issues like
energy, water, property rights."
Democrats got the first crack to make their case, descending
on Denver and giving prime-time speaking slots to Western
governors and senators. Richardson got a rousing ovation at
Mile High Stadium before Obama's speech on the final night.
And Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer drew
wild cheers, advocating for a well-rounded energy policy. "We
simply can't drill our way to energy independence, even if you
drilled in all of John McCain's backyards," he said, hitting
the Arizona Republican for not knowing how many homes he owns.
"I think at least the momentum that has
been building up among Western Democrats was maintained and
probably enhanced by the convention," said Daniel Kemmis,
senior fellow at the Center for the Rocky Mountain West at the
University of Montana.
Rep. Mark Udall,
the Democratic Senate candidate in Colorado, got a huge boost
in terms of interest and enthusiasm after the convention, said
his spokeswoman, Tara Trujillo. Town hall meetings in
conservative strongholds were packed, with 120 people coming
out to a gathering in Cortez and 350 in Highland Ranch.
"I don't think we've seen that before,"
said Trujillo. "That's big. That's just huge."
Richard Hanley, a Quinnipiac University
professor who follows elections, said the Western appeal at
the convention was flimsy, but the party did sign up
battalions of new volunteers - especially in Colorado - who
can go out and proselytize and organize at the grass-roots
level.
But the Palin pick sucked a lot
of the energy out of the Obama bounce, he said.
"It was a brilliant tactic by McCain,"
Hanley said. "Basically what this does is put a completely
different spin on each race in each state, because now you do
have a Westerner [on the ticket]."
Utah
Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. said the Democrats made a pitch for
Westerners, but Republicans have two Westerners on the ticket
- a senator from Arizona and governor from Alaska.
"The McCain-Palin ticket is as Western
[of] a ticket in American political history," Huntsman said.
"As a Westerner, I couldn't be happier."
Erwin said it is a big advantage to
have candidates who understand the West and can speak with
authority about issues like energy, water and property rights.
"It is clearly an uphill battle for the
Obama campaign in the West," said Kemmis, who was the
Democratic House speaker in Montana.
But Michael Stratton, a Western Democratic political
consultant, says Obama's message of changing Washington, and
sustainable energy development while protecting the
environment will resonate with voters. Undoubtedly, though,
there will be a fight.
"I think that in
Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada, you're going to see a lot of
John McCain and Sarah Palin and lot of Barack Obama and Joe
Biden," said Stratton. "They're three of the closest states in
the country right now, and I think they're going to be that
way right until the end."
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* THOMAS BURR AND MATT CANHAM contributed to this story.
