User:CoPolWikiLvr/Ken Buck

Ken Buck (born September 16, 1957) is an American politician. A Republican, he is the District Attorney in Weld County, Colorado He is currently a candidate for the United States Senate in the 2010 election.

2010 U.S. Senate election
Ken Buck won the Republican caucuses in March with 38% of the vote to Norton's 37%. The remainder went undecided or to other candidates. His win has been viewed as partially due to a perceived support from the Tea Party movement. This support was seen when FreedomWorks, a tea-party linked group, publicly announced support for Buck in July and when Senator Jim DeMint endorsed his candidacy, elevating Buck to the national stage.

Following the caucuses, fellow Republican candidate Jane Norton decided to forgo the caucus process, instead petitioning onto the ballot. Colorado Republican Party rules do not allow a candidate to use both the assembly and petition processes, and the move resulted in criticism from Republican State Party Chairman Dick Wadhams: “Any candidates for statewide office who forgo the caucus assembly process will not be allowed to speak,” Wadhams said. “They will not be allowed to have banners or signs or literature at the state convention. If the convention is not good enough to participate in, it’s not good enough for them to have a presence. That’s their decision.”

At the state party assembly in May, Buck earned the first place spot on the Republican primary ballot by finishing first.

On July 1st, the Colorado Democratic Party released a website targeting both Buck and Norton

Primary Election Polling
Although Norton lead Buck in earlier polls, A SurveyUSA poll released June 21st, 2010 showed Buck with a 53-38% lead over primary opponent Jane Norton