John Elway For Senate In 2008

With Autonation out of the picture, John Elway has certainly had his schedule freed up a great deal.

Political speculations that this may be the case cropped up yesterday on one liberal blog touting this as the Republican secret weapon for state-wide election in 2008. Can't disagree on the particulars, but any speculation at this point--other than first hand knowledge from Elway--can only be derived by a close examination of his activities over the next few months, political or otherwise. If he were to decide to jump in, given his own financial position, he might be able to wait and see if incumbent Sen. Wayne Allard decides to hang it up, and what other players are in the arena.

Elway's donations, robo-calls, and campaigning have certainly earned him political capital, and his on-field heroics testify to his leadership abilities. Is that enough, however, to effectively run a political campaign, and then to become a legislator? Steve Largent was successful in his bid for Congress while Lynn Swann came up short in the campaign for governor of Pennsylvania. Neither example is predictive of the sort of reception/rejection that Elway might face in Colorado, but are instructive in showing that success on the gridiron does not necessarily lead to a ticket to the beltway or a governorship.

Elway's name recognition could be both an asset (fundraising, visibility) and a hindrance (if numbers go negative, may be hard to recover). The senate race also threatens to overshadow all other political battles in 2008--save the presidency--and will siphon attention away from local races, regardless of the candidate for senate.

technorati: John Elway Wayne Allard Republicans Democrats senate election 2008 Colorado