Betsy Markey recalls her stint as the Larimer County Democratic Party chair, "searching and searching" in 2004 for a candidate to take on Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave.

It was a tough sell.

Musgrave was the incumbent, and Republican incumbents in the 4th Congressional District regularly coasted to sweeping victories.

Now, only three years later, Markey is one of three Democrats vying for a chance in 2008 to try to knock off Musgrave, who barely survived in 2006.

Three Democrats. In the 4th CD. Against a three-term GOP incumbent.

Musgrave's predecessor, U.S. Rep. Bob Schaffer, didn't even draw a Democratic opponent in 2000 when he ran for his third and what turned out to be final term in Congress.

"It is very strange," said Hank Brown, president of the University of Colorado, who in the 1980s represented the district for five terms in Congress.

"This district just votes so Republican."

But Democrats point to a poll in May by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which showed Musgrave as "extremely vulnerable." Only 30 percent of 400 likely voters surveyed said they supported Musgrave's re-election, and over half of the voters gave her a negative job rating.

That poll has inspired Markey and her two Democratic opponents, former state Rep. Angie Paccione and former Republican Eric Eidness. Paccione and Eidness squared off against Musgrave in 2006.

Eidness, then running as a Reform Party candidate, took 11 percent of the vote. He now is running as a Democrat.

Paccione in a stunner lost to Musgrave by only 2.49 percentage points - which even disappointed some high-profile Republicans.

What if . . .?

They reasoned that if voters had elected Paccione, they would quickly turn her out after one term in 2008, electing a Republican as conservative as Musgrave but less polarizing - such as former state Sen. Mark Hillman, of Burlington. That would have allowed the GOP to shift money to other congressional races, including the 7th and 2nd districts.

Critics accused Musgrave of focusing on a constitutional amendment to outlaw gay marriage, while constituents struggled through a drought, recession and soaring health care costs.

Musgrave returned to Congress with the distinction of having the lowest percentage of victory of any Republican, and a plan to try to win back constituents in her sprawling district in northern Colorado and the eastern plains.

"She was criticized - in some ways unfairly - for not being available," said Musgrave's chief of staff, Guy Short.

"She's a humble enough person to say, 'If folks want me to be more available, then I'll be more available.' She's charged the staff with helping her come up with ways to meet as many folks in the district as possible."

Democrats have scoffed at her efforts.

"The new, improved Marilyn?" Paccione said. "It's window dressing. All you have to do is look at her votes. She hasn't changed. That's why I'm in the race, to unseat the same old Marilyn."

Said Eidness: "You can teach an old dog new tricks, but they're still tricks."

Eidness officially announced his candidacy this week. The Vietnam veteran and one-time Reagan appointee to the Environmental Protection Agency said his background, early opposition to the Iraqi war and knowledge of water make him the best candidate to take on Musgrave.

"God bless Betsy and Angie for running, but you cannot win this district without winning the rural vote east of I-25," he said. "They're not Democrats. They're Republicans, who are unhappy like I was, and they're unaffiliated voters."

But state Republican Party Chairman Dick Wadhams thinks Musgrave will win, no matter who wins the Democratic nomination. He said Democrats had their best shot in 2006 as voters nationally turned against Republicans.

Wadhams and other Republicans, including Sen. Ken Kester, of Las Animas, said Musgrave is much more visible these days. She opposed the expansion of the Army's Piñon Canyon maneuver site, and closure of farm service agencies.

Dems plan to be civil

In addition, Wadhams said a three-way primary often leaves lingering resentments - something his party knows all too well, after ugly GOP primaries in 2004 and 2006.

The Democratic candidates say they plan to remain civil and united in their goal: to unseat Musgrave.

She first was elected to Congress in 2002, after beating Democrat Stan Matsunaka, the state Senate president.

At Markey's and other Democrats' urging, Matsunaka took on Musgrave again in 2004. Matsunaka lost but, to the surprise of almost everyone, by a smaller margin than two years earlier. Musgrave was expected to clobber him.

Brown believes the "unprecedented" and "unexpected" flow of Democratic money into the race in the past two elections put a spotlight on Musgrave that wasn't cast on her predecessors.

Voter registration in the 4th Congressional District

Republicans 158,896

Unaffiliated 137,134

Democrats 102,175

Libertarian 932

Green Party 659

Other 224

2008 canidates

Eric Eidness

• Age: 62

• Party: Registered as a Democrat this year. A lifetime Republican, he briefly joined the Reform Party to run in the 2006 election.

• Hometown: Fort Collins

• Family: Divorced, two daughters, one son

• Experience: Assistant administrator for water programs, Environmental Protection Agency, 1981 to 1987; water engineer and businessman

Betsy Markey

• Age: 51

• Party: Democrat

• Hometown: Fort Collins

• Family: Husband, Jim Kelly; two daughters, one son

• Experience: regional director for Sen. Ken Salazar, January 2005 to May 2007; private business owner; U.S. Department of State director of computer security policy and training, 1984-1988

U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave

• Age: 58

• Party: Republican

• Hometown: Fort Morgan

• Family: Husband, Steve Musgrave; two sons; two daughters

• Experience: Colorado House of Representatives, 1994-1998; state Senate, 1999-2003; elected in 2002 to the U.S. House; owned a small agricultural business with husband for 25 years; schoolteacher

Angie Paccione

• Age: 47

• Party: Democrat

• Hometown: Fort Collins

• Family: Single, no children

• Experience: leadership consultant; Democratic nominee, 4th Congressional District, 2006; state House, 2002-2006; former professional basketball player, high school teacher and assistant professor of teacher education and diversity at Colorado State UniversitySource: Secretary Of State'S Office 2008 Candidates Eric Eidness

bartels@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5327

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