Two more great examples of political journalism in Colorado this election season
Here are a couple new additions to my list of this election season’s best political journalism in Colorado.
The first is the Colorado Statesman’s Ernest Luning, whose reporting on state legislative races across Colorado stands in a class by itself this election season. His most recent installment stunned me with it breadth and depth. You’ll love it if you’re trying to figure out what’s up with the leg races this year.
Here’s Luning’s take on where things stand:
Control of the Senate appears likely to stay in Democratic hands after the election, though the party’s margin could dwindle. Republicans would have to win every one of the state’s four competitive Senate seats — and avoid surprises elsewhere — in order to take over the chamber, a feat that appears increasingly less likely as the population of active voters becomes clear. It’s less clear in the House, where every seat is up for election and candidates are looking at a jumbled map following reapportionment.
9News Kyle Clark was on my previous list for his impressive effort to track down Rep. Mike Coffman, who was hiding from reporters after a video emerged showing Coffman telling supporters that Obama is not an American “in his heart.” Coffman also said he didn’t even know if Obama was an American. Clark interviewed Coffman on the street, and the Congressman continued his strange pattern of dodging questions on the topic.
Clark asked Obama a series of tough questions in an interview aired on 9News yesterday. Colorado Pols put it well in a blog post this morning, saying Clark’s journalism “should make both conservatives and liberals proud:”
Clark’s interview with President Obama via satellite yesterday featured a feisty-but-respectful reporter launching immediately into the list of what Republicans consider the most salient attacks on Obama today: the recent terrorism against the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya, and the Department of Energy loan guarantee program for renewable energy that, in addition to its many successes, includes failures like Solyndra and Colorado’s Abound Solar…
Lots of political types spend a lot of time complaining about the state of journalism today. But there’s still plenty of great work being done, and I’m thinking we’ll see more before the election ends.