Buck Frontrunner in Fourth Congressional District – T.M. Fasano, Greeley Tribune

Ken Buck has a head start and a substantial money advantage in the race for the Republican nomination in the Fourth Congressional District.

When Buck switched races with current Congressman Cory Gardner, it was initially assumed he could stroll to the nomination, and given the Republican leaning of the District, take up a long-term seat in Congress. But, a couple of local Republicans decided to run and now Buck has a nomination fight.

Weld County Commissioner Barbara Kirkmeyer may be the best positioned to mount a challenge. Weld is the largest voting bloc in the district, and she has a network of county officials around the district. She may be helped as a leader of the 51st state secession movement. Senator Scott Renfroe is also from Weld County and a conservative.

Each has some assets in terms of campaign experience, issues and name identity. But, Buck has gotten nearly all the area’s Republican votes before in his 2010 race against Michael Bennet.

Quotation from Greeley Tribune:

“I think that you would say that Buck is the front-runner,” Ciruli said. “The comments that were made on whether or not Buck would be the right fit for that district was that either a legislator or a county commissioner would have more of a feel for the local issues.”

He added, “The issues related to that district are in many ways just nitty-gritty, agriculture and water development and trying to get the infrastructure and the benefits for local business. But I think he is the frontrunner unless one of those candidates has a lot of money.”