Valerie Richardson

Fiorina refuses to run as a moderate

After Carly Fiorina won California's Republican Senate primary, many analysts expected her to shake off her conservative mantle and make a lunge for the moderate middle in the general election against liberal incumbent Sen. Barbara Boxer. That's not how it has played out.

September 12, 2010

GOP sweating out effect of governor’s race

The disaster that is the Colorado Republican gubernatorial campaign could end up dragging down the rest of the party's ticket. Or it could benefit other GOP candidates by freeing up resources and creating a sense of urgency among activists.

September 6, 2010

Slow progress feared in stem cell study

The courts have been less than friendly to pro-life causes in the past - see Roe v. Wade - but this week's ruling came as a resounding victory for those opposed to spending federal dollars on embryonic stem cell research.

August 26, 2010

Judge puts Obama stem cell policy on hold

A federal judge issued a temporary hold Monday on the Obama administration's new guidelines on human embryonic stem cell research, dealing the White House a serious setback in its efforts to promote the highly sensitive research with federal funding.

August 23, 2010

Reid, Angle misfire with gaffes in Nevada Senate race

Between Democratic incumbent Harry Reid's gaffes and Republican challenger Sharron Angle's misfires, the winner of the Nevada Senate race may be the first candidate who can stop talking.

August 16, 2010

Upstarts bench GOP’s all-star team

Less than a year ago, top party officials boasted of experienced candidates poised to breeze through their Senate primary elections and put the hurt on vulnerable Dems. After Tuesday's primary votes, not one member of the dream team will be the Republican nominee in November.

August 11, 2010

Bennet survives, Buck wins in Colorado

Sen. Michael Bennet, President Obama's candidate, fended off a challenge from Bill Clinton favorite Andrew Romanoff on Tuesday to win the Colorado Democratic Senate primary and avoid the fate of other endangered incumbents this primary season.

August 10, 2010

Insurgents in both parties eye upsets in Colorado primary

With Colorado's primary election a day away, the anti-establishment candidates are surging, and not just on the Republican side.

August 8, 2010

Ruling gives boost to same-sex marriage

National recognition for same-sex marriage took a giant step forward Wednesday when, in a decision that some are comparing to Roe v. Wade, a federal judge overturned Proposition 8, California's voter-approved constitutional amendment on traditional marriage.

August 4, 2010

Tancredo declares run against GOP

Former Republican Rep. Tom Tancredo made good on his high-noon ultimatum Monday by announcing that he would enter the Colorado governor's contest as a third-party candidate, essentially dashing the GOP's last hopes of winning the race.

July 26, 2010

Tancredo roils GOP in Colorado

There's a showdown in the Colorado Republican gubernatorial primary coming Monday at high noon.

July 25, 2010

Fired fed gets apology from White House

White Houses rarely apologize, but for the second time the Obama administration was forced to issue a mea culpa for its hasty handling of a racially charged incident, this time involving an Agriculture Department employee.

July 21, 2010

Ousted USDA staffer offered job at dept.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has apologized to Shirley Sherrod and offered her a new position at the agency.

July 21, 2010

Black USDA official forced to quit, she says

A black former Agriculture Department official said Tuesday that she was forced to resign over her remarks about not having helped a white farmer, though the remarks may not have been racist after all.

July 20, 2010

Adult stem cells said to ‘forget’ retooling

Reprogrammed adult stem cells may not be as useful an alternative to controversial embryonic stem-cell research as had been hoped, researchers found in two articles published Monday.

July 19, 2010

Tancredo cheered for political encore

The plagiarism scandal surrounding GOP gubernatorial hopeful Scott McInnis has pushed another familiar Colorado Republican back into the political spotlight.

July 18, 2010

McInnis dismisses calls to quit race

Colorado Republican Scott McInnis rebuffed calls to drop out of the gubernatorial race in the wake of plagiarism accusations that have rocked his campaign.

July 15, 2010

Plagiarism scandal rocks GOP hopeful in Colorado

Republican gubernatorial front-runner Scott McInnis stands accused of copying the work of others in a column, a speech and an essay -- a scandal that jeopardizes the state GOP's chances in one of its most winnable races.

July 14, 2010

Is Yucca Mountain a voter molehill?

The recent ruling reviving the long, bitter debate over the Yucca Mountain waste storage plan has added an element of surprise to a U.S. Senate race in Nevada already on the verge of going nuclear.

July 12, 2010

Judge: Gay marriage up to states

A federal judge in Boston struck a blow to the Defense of Marriage Act on Thursday by ruling in favor of married same-sex couples seeking federal-based benefits.

July 8, 2010