Colorado Becomes the New Battleground

New Yorker: “The state’s unruliness can be explained in part by the electoral math. Registered voters are almost equally split among Democrats, Republicans, and independents. Colorado’s political statutes allow citizens to introduce ballot initiatives, a situation that encourages populist campaigning on unconventional issues. A rising Latino population has enlivened the immigration debate. And an oil and natural-gas drilling boom has exacerbated long-running arguments about land rights and environmentalism. The midterm elections will likely be closely contested and fuelled by heavy spending by outside interests, and the results may help to define President Obama’s electoral legacy.”