Colorado: Hank Brown

Several of the 20 candidates for Colorado's Secretary of State have some heavy hitters backing them.

TV talk show host and 1990 Democratic Secretary of State nominee Aaron Harber offered former U.S. Sens. Gary Hart (D-Kittredge) and Hank Brown (R-Denver) as references on his application.

Joseph Poche, vice president of operations at Physicians Management Information Services, Inc., can more than match Harber when it comes to A-list backers: the Denver resident lists 1992 and 1996 presidential candidate Ross Perot and U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) as references.

Arapahoe, Jefferson, Adams and Larimer counties will be the key swing areas to watch in Colorado on election night, said former U.S. Sen. Hank Brown (R-Denver) on Friday.

In a conference call with online media, Brown also predicted a record turnout in Colorado because of a "very hot" presidential race and a number of controversial referenda on the November ballot.

"I think the real swing will be in those more independent counties that tend to make up the majority (0f votes cast) when they turn out heavily," Brown said.

Former U.S. Sen. Hank Brown told PolitickerCO.com Saturday afternoon that he was “shocked” to hear Barack Obama had picked U.S. Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) as his running-mate, given Biden’s “been probably the most articulate critic of Obama on the Democratic side.”