From the Associated Press:

A state lawmaker says he plans to introduce a bill next year to prohibit Colorado officials from hiring private legal counsel after Gov. Bill Ritter hired his former law firm to analyze stimulus money spending.

Republican Sen. Ted Harvey says the bill would require state officials to use the Colorado attorney general's legal team except in emergencies or when there is a conflict.

Harvey says Ritter, a Democrat, should not have hired his former law firm, Washington-based Hogan & Hartson, because "it's inappropriate and sends a bad message."

IN-STATE TUITION FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS SHOT DOWN BY SENATE: How nice of them to delay the debate to wait on a Democratic senator with car troubles while the same courtesy couldn't be afforded to Ted Harvey last week when he had to take care of his ill father-in-law.

(- promoted by Rocky Mountain Right -)

In a cowardly, disgraceful fashion the Majority Democrats in the Colorado State Senate moved up a controversial vote on a bill to offer in-state tuition to illegal immigrants to today because they knew if Sen. Harvey (who is out of town taking care of his father in law with Alzheimer's) was gone they could pass it.  "Beyond the pale" doesn't even give this trick justice. 

 http://www.denverpost.com/politics/ci_12047859

The Wil Armstrong campaign has released polling data that shows a dead heat with Mike Coffman in the CD-6 Repubican primary:

                        Ballot                          Raw                 %

                        Ted Harvey                 186                  11.0

                        Steve Ward                 141                  8.4

                        Wil Armstrong            548                  32.5

                        Mike Coffman            570                  33.8

                        Undecided                  239                  14.2    

The Armstrong campaign has been enjoying a large media advantage over Coffman thanks to an investment from their candidate and the Coffman campaign has been targetted by a stream of agitated Republican officials over the last few months. This poll had a sample size of 1684 and the exact phrasing is unknown at this time. If accurate, the CD-6 race will hinge on voter turnout so Republican activists should get out there on behalf of their favorite candidate.

In light of Mitt Romney's strong showing the caucuses, this might be the most dramatic endorsement that Wil Armstrong could have announced. Unlike previous endorsements that consisted largely of Republican politicians from outside CD-6, this one could very well have a tangible impact among primary voters.

(BOSTON, MA) – Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney today announced his support for congressional candidate Wil Armstrong.  “Washington is broken and Wil Armstrong is the best man to fix it,” said Romney.

    “Wil Armstrong gets my strong endorsement for the Republican nomination in Colorado’s 6th Congressional District.  He is best qualified to bring the conservative change we need to Washington and reduce the size and cost of the federal government.

    “Wil Armstrong is a career businessman, not a career politician,” Romney continued.  “It is that real-world experience that Washington so desperately needs today.  He has dealt with complex business situations and forged solutions during both the highs and lows of an unstable economy.

    “For the same reason I decided to enter public service, Wil Armstrong is doing the same.  People who have spent their careers outside Washington creating jobs and running enterprises can bring a unique perspective to Washington.  It is a voice and perspective with which we need to hear more.” 

Speculation is intense that Romney could be named John McCain's running mate in a matter of weeks if not days. It would be interesting to see how that would factor into the race.

The Mike Coffman campaign has released polling they commissioned from the Tarrance Group, a respected polling outfit, showing that they are maintaining a wide lead in the upcoming primary. The results are as follows:

Mike Coffman   47%

Wil Armstrong   19%

Ted Harvey         7%

Steve Ward         4%

The Republican Assembly for CD-6 was held today. Both Mike Coffman and Wil Armstrong bypassed today's assembly in favor of petitioning to gain ballot access. This left only Ted Harvey, Steve Ward, and the little-known Pepito Castellanos to compete at the assembly.

Most expected Ted Harvey to dominate the process and hold Steve Ward below the threshold for ballot access. In a surprise result, Ted Harvey barely took a majority of delegates and Steve Ward garnered enough delegates for placement on the primary ballot by a comfortable margin. This is a very bad sign for Ted Harvey's campaign which had been sorely lagging Coffman and Armstrong in polling and money raised and was counting on a strong showing of grassroots support today.

CD- 6 Republican Assembly Results
Ted Harvey -  53%
Steve Ward -  43%
Pepito Castellanos  -  4%

Here are the first quarter fundraising totals for the CD-6 candidates:

Mike Coffman:   $244,239
Wil Armstrong:  $226,815

This post will be updated with Mike Coffman and Ted Harvey's numbers when they become available.

Update (4/15/08 - 11:11 AM): Mike Coffman's campaign has just reported in a press release raising $244,239, this places Mike Coffman slightly ahead of Wil Armstrong.

244 valid votes were cast in the Rocky Mountain Right 6th Congressional District straw poll. The final results showed Wil Armstrong and Mike Coffman tying with 102 votes and 46% each. Ted Harvey came in third place with 19 votes and 8% of the vote. Steve Ward garnered only 1 vote and had less than 1% of the final tally.

Wil Armstrong - 102 votes (46%)
Mike Coffman - 102 votes (46%)
Ted Harvey - 19 votes (8%)
Steve Ward - 1 votes (Less Than 1%)

The original straw poll post can be found here.

*Due to attempts at cheating by supporters of Wil Armstrong and Mike Coffman, a total of 36 votes were disqualified. Twenty-four of these votes were cast by supporters of Mike Coffman accessing Rocky Mountain Right from the same IP address, traced to an anonymous proxy server, and using a service called "Sneakemail" to set up fake email addresses. Twelve of Wil Armstrong's votes were disqualified for the the same reason. The proxy services in question and fake email site have now been permanently banned from Rocky Mountain Right.
Rocky Mountain Right audits poll results and attempts at distorting the results will be thwarted.

Rocky Mountain Right is conducting a straw poll of conservative activists in the Sixth Congressional District. This comes on the heels of the highly successful straw poll of the Fifth District that saw 133 votes cast.  In order to vote you need only to register an account with Rocky Mountain Right, this allows us to prevent individuals from voting more than once.

Show your support for Wil Armstrong, Mike Coffman, Ted Harvey, or Steve Ward! Supporters of all of the congressional campaigns are encouraged to participate in this straw poll.

Voting will close at 6:00 PM on Friday, March 14th. The results of the straw will be announced here and via press release at that time.

How To Vote:

Register an account with Rocky Mountain Right to prevent multiple votes.

If you have already registered, click below to vote.