Rocky Mountain left

Politics | Democrats hope their success in Colorado points to national change and an Obama victory | Mark Bergin

Over the past 40 years, Colorado has proved one of the most reliably red states in presidential elections. In nine of the past 10 national votes, it has tipped Republican, the only exception coming in 1992 when Ross Perot's independent candidacy divided the GOP base and delivered the state to Bill Clinton.

What's more, local politics in the Centennial state turned decidedly red at the turn of the century, reaching a deep shade of crimson by November 2002. In the wake of an election cycle that retained a Republican governor by a 63-34 margin, kept Republicans in control of the state legislature, and handed the GOP five of seven U.S. House seats, many Democrats throughout Colorado moped in despair.

But at least one small cadre of liberal activists believed the state was ripe for change. In June 2003, about a dozen grassroots political operatives gathered at the Hotel Boulderado in downtown Boulder and imagined a statewide transformation from crimson to cobalt. A second meeting in the back room of Denver's renowned Sullivan's Steakhouse helped turn vision to strategy.