One of the less-appreciated legacies of George W. Bush, but the one that may have the greatest effect in the long term -- is the damage done to the GOP's farm team during his Presidency.  GOPers from swing districts -- those who have the most experience with moderate voters -- were wiped out in Congress and at the statehouse level.  Downticket statewide Republicans (Attorneys General, etc.) were similarly obliterated.  This has made it increasingly difficult for the GOP to recruit top-tier candidates to run for higher office.

Nowhere is this more pronounced than Colorado.  Both the Governor and the new Senator are exceedingly vulnerable.  Two earlier polls (reported below) had Governor Bill Ritter hovering around 40% -- a Santorum-2006-ish number.  The GOP has managed to find two high-quality challengers to him, and Ritter is in real trouble heading into 2010.

But what of the Senate race?  Rasmussen reports that Senator Michael Bennet loses to Ryan Frazier 40%-39%, and leads Ken Buck 43%-37%.  Again, not many sitting Senators with numbers around 40% win their re-election efforts, unless they hail from states that ultimately match their ideological profile (ie Bob Menendez, 2006).

Who are Ryan Frazier and Ken Buck?  Why, of course, an Aurora City Councilor and the Weld County (Greeley) District Attorney.  That Bennet is losing or barely leading these unknowns speaks to just how weak he is.  But the fact that a sitting Senator with these abysmal approval ratings hasn't drawn a top tier opponent speaks to the state of the Colorado Republican Party, and how badly damaged it has been over the past eight years.  Apparently the Colorado Democratic Party is having trouble giving away its Senate seat, and that is obviously not good news for the GOP.