When news broke Monday that president-elect Barack Obama would tap U.S. Senator Ken Salazar (D-CO) as his choice for Secretary of the Interior, Colorado Democrats tempered their enthusiasm with a concerned eye turned toward the future and the 2010 elections, when the seat would be up for election.

Despite the recent bluing trend in Colorado, the Republican Party still has a strong base in Colorado. Salazar is a centrist, and in a senate seat that is by no means a lock for Democrats, it could be argued that no matter who Gov. Ritter choses to replace Salazar, they will have their work cut out for them defending it. CQ Politics writes:

Salazar would have been decisively favored to win in a state that has trended Democratic in recent elections. But the seat will be little tougher for the Democrats to hold with Salazar not on the ballot. Whereas Salazar would have run for re-election as a six-year incumbent, the person that Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter appoints will have served less than two years by the time of the 2010 election, when he or she presumably will seek a full six-year term.

[social_buttons]That being said, as an environmentalist, I’m far more concerned about losing Salazar as a protector of Colorado’s rivers and streams, its mineral resources, and its public lands, than I am about the job the Senator will do protecting those things as the next Secretary of the Interior.





Image: Hurst