Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund National Director Wil Lutz said Tuesday afternoon that he's "cautiously optimistic" about a Betsy Markey victory in the 4th Congressional District.

But if incumbent U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-Fort Morgan) holds onto her seat, he said she'll likely be a prime target of the independent environmental group in 2010.
 
Defenders has spent more than $1.4 million against Musgrave this election cycle - most of it on television ads.

The group  came on the political scene in 2006, when it led a successful campaign to oust U.S. Rep. Richard Pombo (R-Calif.), who as chair of the House Resources Committee, had long been a leading target of environmentalists.

Beating Musgrave this year "certainly would rank up there with the Pombo victory," Lutz said.

"Environmental groups and progressive groups have been trying for several cycles to get rid of her," Lutz said. "So if we're able to come in and do that, where others have been unsuccessful, then really it further defines us as a giant-killer, as you will."
 
Lutz said the public and internal polling he's seen "seems to point towards a Markey victory," though he quickly added, "We're not counting our chickens until they've hatched."
 
Lutz said he had "no regrets" about how his group has run its campaign against Musgrave.
 
"If she does win, I feel it would be due to circumstances beyond our control," Lutz said. "We ran a very strategic, targeted, and effective campaign."
 
Should Musgrave win - and the race appears to be very close at this point - Defenders would likely return for a rematch in two years.
 
"We'd certainly put Musgrave on notice that we're watching and we'll be looking at her conservation votes for the next two years, and I wouldn't be surprised if we were back in two years in that scenario," Lutz said.