It's a year until the next general election, wherein Colorado will elect state officers, including a governor. It will be somebody new, because incumbent Bill Owens will hit his eight-year term limit.
Only one Democrat, former Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter, is officially in the running. But Leadville's state representative is interested.
That's Gary Lindstrom of Breckenridge, whose district also includes Summit and Eagle counties.
He said he has been urged to run because there "aren't a lot of good, strong candidates out there who represent the things we believe in," and so he's thinking about it.
Lindstrom, a former undersheriff and Summit County commissioner, was appointed to a legislative seat in 2004 when incumbent Carl Miller of Leadville, who was facing term limits, resigned to take a seat on the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. Lindstrom was elected to the state House of Representatives last November.
Ritter opposes legalized abortion, while most Democrats, like Lindstrom, favor abortion rights.