Bentley Rayburn

Many prominent Colorado Republicans came out for Saturday's rally with GOP presidential ticket John McCain and Sarah Palin -- some with jobs to do, others to watch the rally.

"We haven't had an event like this since the president came here in 2004," said Jeff Crank, a former 5th Congressional District Republican candidate who was in the grandstand behind McCain and Palin.

DENVER -- Doug Lamborn has done it again. The first-term Republican U.S. representative from Colorado Springs, seen as vulnerable ever since a narrow primary win two years ago, won a decisive victory Tuesday against two of the same candidates he faced in 2006. The race was essentially over early in the evening, after the release of early and mail-in ballot totals showed Lamborn with a commanding 46 percent lead. Mail-in ballot support had helped put Lamborn over the top in the 2006 race as well, when he bested the second-place Jeff Crank by less than 1,000 votes in a six-way primary.

DENVER -- With Tuesday's Primary Day, PolitickerCO.com analyzes the top contests in Colorado. Will Jared Polis' ad barrage help him trump Joan Fitz-Gerald in the 2nd Congressional District? Can Doug Lamborn do it again in the 5th District over the same names he beat in 2006? Has Mike Coffman really put the 6th District race away? And, oh yeah -- turns out there's a GOP primary in the 1st District, too.

The final 5th Congressional District Republican primary debate, scheduled for this week, was canceled by the organizing group's national office after receiving a call from U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn's congressional chief of staff, according to the group's ex-president.

Lamborn had canceled attending the debate, scheduled for Friday by the Colorado Springs chapter of Coalition for a Conservative Majority, said Kyle Fisk, who resigned this week as chapter president over the issue. Primary opponents Jeff Crank and Bentley Rayburn had agreed to attend.

But under pressure from Lamborn Chief of Staff Robert McCreary, the national CCM office told the local chapter to cancel the debate on the grounds that holding a debate without Lamborn would be inappropriate, as it would indicate CCM's support for the other two candidates, Fisk said.

A phone call to CCM Executive Director Chris Perkins seeking comment was not returned Friday afternoon.

Asked to confirm that McCreary had contacted Perkins about canceling the debate, Lamborn spokesperson Christine Mortensen would only release a statement stating that "Congressman Lamborn has consistently questioned the value of debating opponents who agree with him and his voting record on all the major issues. He remains skeptical."

Jeff Crank, a Republican candidate for Colorado's 5th Congressional District, added his name to a petition Friday that counters a Democratic proposal to adopt a congressional rule regarding where members can post videos on the Internet. 

Crank said the initiative is not cost effective and hinders the ability for elected leaders and their constituents to communicate, adding that he would support the petition's originator, U.S. Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas), in any situation that Crank felt would "limit communication between members of Congress and their constituents."

Fifth Congressional District Republican candidate Jeff Crank is trying to collar incumbent U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colorado Springs) for voting against tougher dogfighting penalties last year.

A new Crank mailer blasts Lamborn for his "nay" vote on the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act in March 2007.

Crank mailer, side 1Crank mailer, side 2

Bentley Rayburn tells PolitickerCO.com that he is the one saying in a YouTube video that the Republican primary in the 5th Congressional District "needs to be a two-man match."

Rayburn, who is one of three Republicans in the running, said he was "amazed" and "appalled" that someone recorded the conversation without his knowledge. Jeff Crank said he didn't record it and he doesn't know who did.

"I have no way of knowing whether it's authentic or not, so I can't comment," Crank told PolitickerCO.com.

After taking second place during the last two fundraising quarters, U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colorado Springs) bounced back in the second quarter of 2008.

According to Federal Election Commission records, Lamborn took in $116,491 in the second quarter -- the most of any CO-5 candidate.

Republican primary opponent Jeff Crank also reported a six-digit haul in the second quarter, taking in $102,074.

While Lamborn and Crank significantly improved on their 1Q fundraising, Bentley Rayburn, the third GOP candidate in the race, only improved slightly in the second quarter, taking in $71,784.

Retired Army Major General Robert Mixon, commander of Fort Carson from 2005-2007, endorsed 5th Congressional District Republican candidate Bentley Rayburn on Friday.

"Our nation faces some of the biggest security threats since World War II," Mixon said in a statement. "It is critical that during this time of war we elect representatives who have experience in national security and the Middle East, understand veterans' affairs and know how to work with the military."

In this week's Winners & Losers, Jesse Jackson shares with us his recipe for Rocky Mountain oysters; and Wally guesses the condition by which US Rep Doug Lamborn might agree to debate his opponents. So check in with Wally Edge for Weekly Winners & Losers. And remember Doug: things always go better with a Coke and a smile.