Ben Conarck

Just ten days after Democratic hopeful Patrick Swonger announced his run for the House District 59 seat, the Colorado Democratic Party derailed his candidacy; but the Silverton resident plans to petition his way onto the ballot.

Swonger was disqualified after a committee appointed by Colorado Democratic Party Chair Rick Palacio determined that he had failed to register as a Democrat before the party’s eligibility deadline.

Despite one Colorado representative’s very public decision to not attend the State of the Union address earlier in the week, the remainder of the state’s delegation sat together on the House floor in a display of unity.

Republican businessman Rick Enstrom’s entrance this week into the House District 23 race in Jefferson County against Democratic Rep. Max Tyler could decide which party controls the State House after the 2012 elections.

A newly minted Republican group is garnering support for what it feels has been a missing voice in the debate on the legalization of civil unions in Colorado.