Western Democrats offer party a promising horizon
Hope to be part of image makeover
By Susan Milligan, Globe Staff | November 7, 2006
DENVER -- They wear cowboy boots and oppose most gun controls. They don't worry much about the spotted owl, but they do care about the pristine places where they can hunt and fish.
They are Western Democrats, and along with other segments of their party, they are confident that they will experience a strong power surge today that could win them the House, a majority of governorships, and at least several US Senate seats.
They are also hoping for something else: a chance to help their party remake its Northeastern, blue-state image into a broader, stronger force capable of governing the country for years to come.
"There's going to be a need for accommodation" of Western-style Democrats in the party, said New Mexico's governor, Bill Richardson .
With their libertarian bent, Western Democrats do not view the party's potential gains in Congress as an opportunity to enact a liberal wish list. On certain issues -- such as gun control and some environmental programs -- they have a very different view than do members of the party's Eastern base.
And while Democrats appear to be poised to expand their numbers in the Northeast, Westerners believe that they represent the party's future.
Indeed, demographic changes have shifted the political landscape in a region that was long considered rock-red Republican.
Western Democrats pointed to House races and statewide races in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and even Wyoming that are unexpectedly competitive, given the GOP's traditional strength in the region.
President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have been forced to make appearances for candidates in four Western states where GOP victories were considered almost assured earlier this year. Denver is a finalist to host the 2008 Democratic National Convention, and Western lawmakers believe the Mile-High City will win the competition if Colorado elects a Democratic governor today.
"Colorado is definitely moving from a red state to a short stop at purple, and it's conceivably going to be a blue state" after today's elections, said Floyd Ciruli , an independent pollster based in Denver. Demographic changes and frustration over the war in Iraq "are all contributing to what looks like a really historic transformation here."
But the region's increasing importance to the Democrats also presents a potential conflict, as Westerners demand a bigger say in a party that has long been led by Democrats on both the East and West coasts.
If the Democrats take back the House of Representatives after the voting today, the chamber will be led by Representative Nancy Pelosi, a liberal from California.
Prominent committee chairmanships would go to those favoring abortion rights, and to Easterners who favor gun control, like Representatives Charles Rangel of New York and Barney Frank of Massachusetts.
"They might as well be on another planet, compared to the Western Democrats," said James B. Weatherby , professor emeritus at Boise State University in Idaho.
Bill Ritter , the Democratic nominee for Colorado governor, said the mix of Easterners and Westerners is "a nice complement, actually."
But he said Democrats have been improving their reach in the West in large part because they have chosen candidates more suited to the region's values.
Ritter, for example, opposes abortion and believes law-abiding Coloradans should be able to carry concealed weapons for protection, while Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer keeps a box of bullets on his office desk.
"You cannot deny that what's happening in the West would be helpful if it happened on a broader basis for the entire party," Ritter said.
Danny Diaz , a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, acknowledged that the Western races were part of a "challenging political environment" for Republicans this year. But he predicted that GOP candidates would ultimately prevail.
"The reality is that they are Republican strongholds. There are more of us than there are of the opposition," Diaz said.
That has been true in past elections. But immigration, including the growth of the Hispanic population, has made the Western states less friendly to Republicans and more open to a certain kind of Democrat.
Idaho, for example, is home to what analysts call "housing refugees" from California and Washington state -- people who can't afford escalating home prices in their old neighborhoods.
" They want to retire somewhere that's beautiful and cheap," said Brandon Rottinghaus , a political science professor at the University of Idaho.
Many Western states are also seeing a steady growth of independents; Idaho's electorate is about 30 percent independent, and Colorado's independents now outnumber either Democrats or Republicans.
In addition, frustrations with the Iraq war and Bush are driving independents and even some Republicans to consider Democratic candidates. John Lindsay , a construction worker in Lakewood, Colo., said he would change his longtime Republican voting habits to vote for a Democrat, Ed Perlmutter, in a race for Congress.
"I want change. I'm sick of the way Republicans are running things. The rich are getting richer, and I'm making 10 dollars an hour," said Lindsay, whose modest apartment featured a Denver Broncos sticker and an American flag emblem in the window.
Perlmutter, who has been going from door to door in his sneakers and blue "Ed Perlmutter for Congress" T-shirt since January, said he hears similar comments from disaffected voters in the mixed-income district.
While social issues like gay marriage have buttressed the Republican base, moderates of both parties are increasingly concerned about the war, Perlmutter said.
But Democrats still must contend with claims that their party is too liberal on taxes, social issues, and national security.
Ritter, who has been leading in all gubernatorial polls, said he tells people that there's a new kind of Democrat running in the West.
The party's enhanced prospects "have to do with the kind of candidate the Democrats are putting up," he said. "It's a pragmatic Democrat."
Republicans maintain that they have a superior get-out-the-vote program in Western states.
In Colorado, however, Republicans are struggling, worried about losing the governorship and at least one House seat.
At a recent GOP rally attended by the governor, a sitting US senator, and numerous statewide GOP candidates, only about 50 people attended -- and a number of those were staff members.
"It's a tough year, if you have an 'R' beside your name," said Representative Bob Beauprez , the Lakewood Republican who is running against Ritter for governor of Colorado.
