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Udall visit has local Dems hopeful for future

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Contributed by: Joseph Kirchmer/YourHub.com on 1/22/2008

U.S. Senate candidate Mark Udall believes he has a shot of competing in Douglas County, an area often looked upon as the state's most secure Republican stronghold.

Udall, D-Colo., is scheduled to hold a fundraiser Feb. 2 in Highlands Ranch. Democrats feel they have made significant headway there in recent years. Party officials say Udall's appearance proves the county, particularly House District 43, is an area in which Democrats could win in an election.

They point to the success of Governor Bill Ritter, who nearly won House District 43 in the 2006 gubernatorial election. He fell short by 133 votes.

Those numbers are encouraging for Democrats, who are out numbered nearly three to one by Republicans in the county. According to the Douglas County Clerk and Recorder's Office, there are 32,145 registered Democrats in the county compared to 80,829 Republicans and 50,278 unaffiliated voters.

"The picture is getting better for us every election cycle," said Christian Moreau, finance chair for the Douglas County Democrats. "We feel the change in the county, but especially in Highlands Ranch. It's okay to be a Democrat here. We're no longer viewed as a rarity."

Moreau founded the Highlands Ranch Democrats with his wife, Maritza, last year. He said as many as 80 people have attended their meetings and attendance has never fallen below 35 people.

He attributes the success of the Highlands Ranch Democrats to a philosophy that focuses more on entertainment than business.

"We separated the business from the social, so people don't have to sit through resolutions and those kinds of things," he said. "We took that out and created a more entertaining infrastructure which is based on socializing and networking."

Douglas County Democrats Chairman Paul Thompson has modeled much of the party around the Highlands Ranch Democrats and believes the Moreaus have been a catalyst for much of the party's recent success.

"They're the spearhead of the whole thing," Thompson said. "They've always been very organized and they have a lot of energetic people."

Thompson, who has been the chair for nearly three years, says with every election cycle, Democrats gain close to four points. Although the party has a lot of ground to make up, it's still encouraging, he said, pointing to the fact that Democrats now regularly field candidates in every major election.

"It's really changed a lot," Thompson said. "The joke around here four or five years ago was that you could fit all the Democrats in the county into a phone booth. But over the last four years, we've turned almost nothing into a huge organization."

Both Thompson and Moreau became active in politics during Howard Dean's 2004 run for president.

"A lot of us were looking for a place to go," Moreau said. "Howard Dean was a little more modern as opposed to traditional politicians."

The Dean campaign energized local Democrats, Moreau said, and helped build the party up from scratch.

"Before, we just had one business meeting a month at the county level," he said. "Now we have a dozen meetings monthly."

Political analyst Aaron Harber believes Democrats could possibly enjoy success in Douglas County, but it may still be down the road.

"I think it's more than two to four years away before Democrats could win there," he said. "In fact, it may be a number of election cycles. They may not gain any seats, but it could help candidates running for statewide office."

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