COLORADO SENATE Democrats capture control from GOP The defeat of incumbent Republican Bruce Cairns tips the 18-17 voting advantage from the GOP to the Democrats.

BYLINE: Kris Hudson and Steve Lipsher Denver Post Staff Writers

Democrats wrested control of the state Senate from Republicans late Tuesday by unseating an incumbent in a key Arapahoe County race.

In all but one of 15 contested races, incumbents either retained their seats or led their challengers late Tuesday.

The exception - which tipped the 18-17 voting advantage in the Senate from the GOP to the Democrats - was challenger Suzanne Williams' defeat of Bruce Cairns, the Republican incumbent, in District 28.

The Democrats also appeared to gain a majority in the state House.

"We certainly can state a very strong case for solving our fiscal deficit, and I believe that there are people on both sides of the aisle that want to get this done," Senate Democratic leader Joan Fitz-Gerald said.

Senate President John Andrews, a Centennial Republican, conceded that the GOP had lost control of both chambers of the legislature for the first time since the 1970s.

"We tried everything we could to mobilize our donors and spend dollar for dollar to defend our senators and maybe pick up one or two," Andrews said. "But for whatever reason, the party on the outside was hungrier.

"And there's probably a degree of complacency with Republicans habitually controlling the legislature, even though the Democratic takeover of the Senate in 2000 should have been a wake-up call."

Significant results were unavailable late Tuesday for one of two Boulder County contests, but the county is a Democratic stronghold.

With a Republican governor and the state House with a strong GOP advantage heading into Tuesday, Colorado Democrats seized on the Senate as a political battleground, hoping to regain an advantage they held two years ago.

At a Westminster polling place on Tuesday afternoon, some voters who acknowledged they had heard little about the state Senate candidates said they resorted to voting along party lines.

"It was a party decision," said Will Senn, a 46-year-old Republican who, along with his wife, Allissa, voted for GOP candidate Jessica Corry in Senate District 19. "The Republican Party generally holds to those core values we feel are important."

Melanie Ornelas, a 23-year- old University of Colorado student, said she tends to vote for the Democrat in races involving candidates she does not know.

Even so, she could not recall if she voted for Corry's opponent, Democratic Sen. Sue Windels, who ultimately won.

For much of the campaign season, the fight was focused on six key races:

Senate District 8, where Republican Sen. Jack Taylor of Steamboat Springs led Democrat Jay Fetcher late Tuesday.

Senate District 14, where former Democratic Rep. Bob Bacon trounced Fort Collins Mayor Ray Martinez, a Republican, for the seat long held by Democrat Peggy Reeves.

Senate District 17, a seat vacated by Boulder Democrat Terry Phillips, sought by Republican Sandy Hume, a former Boulder County commissioner and state senator, and Democrat Brandon Shaffer, a lawyer. Shaffer held a slight lead late Tuesday.

Senate District 19 in Arvada and Westminster, where Windels defeated Corry.

Senate District 21, where Democratic Sen. Deanna Hanna of Lakewood beat Republican challenger Tori Merritts.

Senate District 28 in Aurora, where Cairns lost to state Rep. Williams, who reached her term limits in the lower chamber.

The heat was turned up in the past month against Republican Sen. Jim Dyer in Senate District 26, covering parts of Englewood and Littleton. Even so, he narrowly prevailed over Democrat Jared Ingwalson, a political newcomer.

<<back