Black GOP Candidate Drops Senate Bid, Runs for House

Aurora, Colo. Councilman Ryan Frazier, an African-American Republican I spoke to for this piece on 2010 candidates, has dropped his Senate bid and launched a congressional campaign. Frazier’s new target: Rep. Earl Perlmutter (D-Colo.), who captured the state’s 7th District, which includes Aurora, in 2006.

The 7th District is considerably bluer than the rest of the state — it gave Barack Obama a 19-point win over John McCain, after handing John Kerry a 3-point win four years earlier. And Perlmutter has represented parts of the district since he was elected to the state Senate in 1994. Still, it’s less of a longshot than the Senate race, and Frazier has built up name recognition that he’ll use to raise funds nationally.