Did you know Mike Coffman was running for Congress?

Mike Coffman.

With so many competitive races in Colorado this year, it's something of a novelty to discovery one that's not close at all. So it is with the 6th Congressional District, currently represented by outgoing Republican Representative Tom Tancredo. When GOP officials left positions elsewhere, Dems saw the vaccum as an opportunity to add a seat to their majority without having to defeat an incumbent -- witness the spirited (to say the least) faceoff between Mark Udall and Bob Schaffer for the U.S. Senate position Republican Wayne Allard no longer wants. But the 6th is so reliably red that Democrat hopeful Hank Eng is given no realistic shot at victory even by the most optimistic members of his party -- which explains why Coffman's been largely absent from the TV airwaves until this past weekend, when I finally saw one of his campaign ads. After all, why spend a ton of money if you're going to win anyhow?

As a bonus, Coffman doesn't need to go negative to ensure success at the ballot box: the soft sell is fine. Since there's a good chance you won't stumble upon his spots while channel surfing, take a look at his upbeat approach by clicking "More." -- Michael Roberts