Buck plans a statewide announcement tour next month. Buck announces for Colo. Senate

Ken Buck, the Colorado conservative who blew a winnable 2010 Senate race, will try again in 2014.

The Weld County district attorney beat lymphoma this year and believes he can beat freshman Sen. Mark Udall (D) next year.


Buck joins Alaska’s Joe Miller, who defeated a GOP incumbent in a 2010 primary only to lose to her write-in campaign in the general, in trying to run for Senate again.

First, Buck will need to prevail in a Republican primary over two state senators — Randy Baumgardner and Owen Hill.

( PHOTOS: Senators up for election in 2014)

Then, he’ll need to offer a compelling rationale for why he deserves another chance after a host of unforced errors three years ago. Trying to make a funny quip about an attack ad from Jane Norton, his Republican primary opponent, Buck said people should vote for him because, “I don’t wear high heels.”

Buck also compared being gay to being an alcoholic and got overheard saying he didn’t want birthers asking him questions about President Barack Obama’s birth certificate while he was on camera.

Third, Buck will need to convince leery and fatigued national donors that he can put Colorado in play and meaningfully expand the map beyond the red states that the party currently sees as its path to a majority.

On a glossy campaign website, Buck calls Udall “the deciding vote” on both the stimulus and Obamacare.

“Since President Obama and Senator Mark Udall went to Washington in 2008, Senator Udall has been one of the most reliable rubber stamps for President Obama’s failed policies,” Buck writes in an open letter.

He notes that the national debt has risen to almost $17 trillion.

“Colorado needs a U.S. Senator that will fight back in Washington, not capitulate to the big spenders,” he adds.

Reassuring voters that he has the wherewithal for a campaign, Buck started his note by declaring that he is cancer free.

“After the initial scare, I am happy to report that I am finished with Chemo, have my strength back and my doctors report there is no detectable cancer in my body,” he wrote. “God is good!”

Buck plans a statewide announcement tour next month.

“Ken’s going to finish the job in 2014,” Buck consultant Walt Klein told The Denver Post, which first reported the news.

In 2010, Buck lost to Sen. Michael Bennet — who now chairs the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Bennet’s campaign manager that year, Guy Cecil, is executive director.