Primary Roundup: Perlmutter Vs. O'Donnell In CD 7, Lamborn Upsets Crank For CD 5

What a night!

Ed Perlmutter's trouncing of Peggy Lamm is somewhat unexpected, given Lamm's big visibility push and name recognition. A win was not unforeseeable, but a nearly sixteen percent margin of victory is, even when factoring in Herb Rubenstein's spoiler role. Adding in his tally, Lamm still would have lost by six points.
Given the stakes of this district's outcome, the battle appears to have already begun:

Shortly after declaring victory, Perlmutter jumped on O'Donnell for representing more of the same when it comes to what he called President Bush's failed war in Iraq, his failures to develop alternatives to fossil fuels and the Republican- led Congress' deficit spending.

"I'm going to be about change and debate and checks and balances, and he's going to be about more of the same," Perlmutter said.

O'Donnell fired back, vowing not to cut and run from the war and promising to protect the president's tax cuts if elected.

And he insisted that he does not represent the Republican status quo.

"I represent a new generation of leadership," he said. "I represent new blood, honest answers and new solutions."

Here is the breakdown for the 7th CD by party affiliation:

County Republican Democrat Unaffiliated

• Adams 17,354--22,943--22,142

• Arapahoe 23,135--32,047--31,271

• Jefferson 72,390--65,613--69,334

Total 112,879--120,603--122,747

Given those numbers it is clear why the district is completely up-for-grabs though it has been a Republican seat, and could be the bellwether race for control of the House in 2006.

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Another surprise is Doug Lamborn's late upset victory over Jeff Crank who had been leading all night and had been considered the frontrunner in a wide field. Absentee ballots finally put Lamborn past the post in the end as he leap-frogged a seemingly daunting lead by Crank.
As the seat has never been held by a Democrat, and is firmly ensconced in a reliably conservative/Republican stronghold, this seat is not in contention, but political missteps and upsets can never be ruled out. Barring such blunders, Lamborn will succeed Joel Hefley as the representative for Colorado's 5th Congressional District.

From RMN's election ticker:
U.S. HOUSE - DISTRICT 7
Democrat primary Votes Percent
Ed Perlmutter 15,385 53.4%
Peggy Lamm 10,857 37.7%
Herb Rubenstein 2,569 8.9%
Precincts:
317 of 324 reporting Total: 28,811

U.S. HOUSE - DISTRICT 5
Republican primary Votes Percentage
Doug Lamborn 14,997 27.0%
Jeff Crank 14,076 25.4%
Bentley Rayburn 9,591 17.3%
Lionel Rivera 7,150 12.9%
John Anderson 6,411 11.6%
Duncan Bremer 3,262 5.9%
Precincts: 423 of 424 reporting Total: 55,487