Colorado 2008

[jimrtex]

Together with the fact that the trend towards the DEMs is higher in 2006 than it was in 1990, 2 years before Clinton won the state, I tend to say that Colorado will be a real battleground in 2008 with maybe even a slight advantage for the DEM candidate.

Any thoughts ?

Colorado voters aren't particularly partisan.  In 2002, Owens was elected with 65% of the vote, while at the same time Ken Salazar was elected AG with 60% of the vote.

In 2006, while Ritter was getting 60%, the down ballot statewide races were right at 50%.

In 2006, the Republicans didn't run a congressional candidate in District 1.  While there was no chance of a win, a candidate would have boosted the statewide percentage about 4%.  You had the bitter primary in CD 6, which reduced the GOP percentage from 70% to 60%.  You had CD7 which was an open seat.

[jimrtex]

The state is tuning left their is no denying that fact.  I know you may want to think the state isn't turning left, but reality is that the state is.  Casing point look at how the state compares to the national average on the Presidential level and how it has moved since 96.  in 96 the state was almost 10 points more Republican than the national average, by 2004 with a Democratic Presidential candidate who was quite a bit more liberal than Clinton and a northeast liberal at that, the state was only 2 points more GOP than the national average.  Thats a monster swing on the Presidential level.  This just isn't about the Democratic pickups on the statewide level, that is a real huge swing on the Presidential level and on top of that happening while going from a moderate Democrat to a liberal Democrat on the Presidential level, which even further proves the point about the leftward swing of the state.

Kerry was born in Colorado.  Being from Texas or even the south is not an advantage for a presidential candidate in Colorado.  Being Neil Bush's brother doesn't help either.

[jimrtex]

For a real exurb, look at Greeley. People actually commute from there to Denver. But I doubt you'd find very many people commuting from Colorado Springs (which already boasts a growing job market) to Denver.

There is commuter bus service between Colo Spgs and Denver (21 daily each way).  If you lived in the Springs and lost your job, you might well look for something in Denver, especially out by the Tech Center.  And people in Castle Rock commute both ways.

[jimrtex]

Other than Fountain and Wildfield, there is really no suburbs in CS. Trust me!

Woodland Park.  Manitou Springs.  Monument.

Teller County is part of the Colo Spgs metropolitan area for a reason.

[jimrtex]

Other than Fountain and Wildfield, there is really no suburbs in CS. Trust me!

Woodland Park.  Manitou Springs.  Monument.

Teller County is part of the Colo Spgs metropolitan area for a reason.

SUBURBS!

Why isn't it growing as fast as El Paso County though?

Between 1990 and 2000 Teller County grew 65%, while El Paso County only grew 30%.  Since 2000, it has been slightly slower (7% vs. 9%).

Incidentally, since 2000, El Paso County exclusive of Colorado Springs has grown from 155K to 193K (25%), while within the city growth has only been 11%.

[jimrtex]

Other than Fountain and Wildfield, there is really no suburbs in CS. Trust me!

Woodland Park.  Manitou Springs.  Monument.

Teller County is part of the Colo Spgs metropolitan area for a reason.

Monument is a suburb - I'll agree there.

Woodland Park would exisit without Colorado Springs because nobody wants to drive from W/P to C/S in the snow. That is a death march. Also, it is a 35-35 minute drive from C/S to W/P.

I'm going to diagree on you regarding Manitou Springs because the town would still be there without C/S. M/S is a tourist town for Pikes Peak and I can't think of anyone who lives there because of C/S. It is its own identity.

It's a great town and I'd suggest when one goes there to do the Manitou incline. It will kick your ass!

BLUF: All three are great places to live!

If you lived in Woodland Park, where are you going to work?   In 2000, 4381 of 9199 (48%) workers in the Woodland Park area worked outside the county.  Commute times for 1/2 of the workforce were at least 30 minutes, with about 1/4 over 45 minutes, and 10% over an hour.  With that many people driving to the Springs, the rest of the population is supporting commuters (stores, schools, etc.).
BTW, Woodland Park is the 3rd largest incorporated city in the metro area, after the Springs and Fountain.

Though Manitou is a tourist town, people can still live there and commute into town. 

An added curiousity is that Palmer Lake has a larger population than Monument.  The houses on the east side of I-25 must not be in the town.