Ken Buck Wins Republican Nomination For Senate In Colorado

What seemed impossible less than one year ago became reality Tuesday as Tea Party-backed candidate Ken Buck upset former Lieutenant Governor Jane Norton to capture the Republican Senate nomination in Colorado.

Buck captured just over 51% of the vote to Norton's 49% in Tuesday's primaries before Norton conceded some time around 9:00.

Buck, the Weld County District Attorney, nearly dropped out of the race when Norton declared her candidacy last year.

However, bolstered by Tea Party groups and other conservative grassroots organizations, Buck defeated Norton the party caucuses, and--by the beginning of summer--had firmly established himself as the frontrunner for the nomination.

The race tightened in the weeks leading up to the primary when Buck was caught on camera making several different controversial remarks about the Tea Party and gender.

Buck will face incumbent Michael Bennet in what should be a competitive general election.

In a statement Tuesday night, Chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Robert Menendez, was quick to lump Buck in with Tea Party-backed candidates who have won primaries in other states:

"Republicans meanwhile nominated an extremist candidate who joins the ranks of Sharron Angle, Rand Paul, and Ron Johnson - all of whom are more concerned with imposing a strict social doctrine than with growing the economy."

The Democratic party has made no secret that it intends to tie Republicans to the Tea Party as part of its 2010 strategy.