And the GOP Outsider in Colorado is?

It hasn't garnered the attention of incumbent Republican Senator Bob Bennett's ouster in Utah or conservative upstart Rand Paul's ascendancy in Kentucky. But the purest parable of this election cycle may be the race unfolding in Colorado's Republican Senate primary, which takes place Aug. 10.

The framework is all too familiar this election year. The insurgent candidate, county prosecutor Ken Buck, has surfed a wave of grass-roots energy and anti-Washington animus to a lead over the front runner, former lieut. governor Jane Norton. Buck, who nearly bowed out of the race last August when Norton jumped in, has earned the imprimatur of the GOP's conservative kingmaker, South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint, the favor of Tea Party activists and the cash of a well-funded interest group. The groundswell of support has helped him open a 53% to 37% lead, according to a poll taken late last month.    – More -