Darryl Glenn Wins Republican Primary for U.S. Senate in Colorado Winner in general election could determine which party controls Senate next year By Dan Frosch

Posted By on June 29th, 2016

http://www.wsj.com/articles/darryl-glenn-wins-republican-primary-for-u-s-senate-in-colorado-1467171290

A conservative county commissioner won the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Colorado on Tuesday, setting up a critical swing-state race with Democratic incumbent Michael Bennet.

Darryl Glenn led the five-way, crowded contest with 37.5% of the votes, according to the Associated Press, with 84% of the precincts reporting.

Once considered a long shot, Mr. Glenn impressed Colorado Republicans—particularly conservatives—with his speech at the state GOP convention earlier this year. And in recent days, he seemed to gain momentum after picking up the endorsement of Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) and other national conservative figures.

Republicans had initially been hopeful that the race would produce a heavyweight challenger to Mr. Bennet in a state that is virtually evenly carved up between Democrats, Republicans and voters who don’t identify with either party.

But after more popular GOP politicians including U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers, and George Brauchler, the prosecutor in the Aurora theater shooting trial, declined to jump in, those hopes dimmed as lesser known figures joined the fray instead.

The race will be one of several closely watched contests that will determine which party controls the Senate next January. Democrats must win a net of five seats, or four if they win the White House and secure the vice president’s tiebreaking vote, to regain control of the chamber.

Mr. Glenn, who holds office in El Paso County, which includes Colorado Springs, benefited from a divided field, racking up endorsements from Sarah Palin and Focus on the Family founder James Dobson, in addition to Sen. Cruz.

Mr. Glenn’s opponents in the race were Jack Graham, an ex- NFL quarterback and former Colorado State University athletic director; Robert Blaha, a businessman; Jon Keyser, a former state representative; and Ryan Frazier, a former Aurora city councilman.

None of the five men had much statewide name recognition, nor was a single candidate able to gain traction during the campaign. For months, political analysts predicted the election would be a tossup.

The primary was also marred by controversy. To start, Mr. Glenn stunned the party with a powerful speech at the state convention and was the only candidate to win enough delegates to get on the ballot. CONTINUE AT SITE

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