If Pete Coors had been hoping to follow Nixon's old formula, and run to the right for the nomination, and then back to the center for the election, the left-wing interest groups are going to do their best to prevent that. Coors's announcement last week that the company will no longer pay for abortions has made it into a general NARAL press release attacking pretty much every Republican senatorial candidate they can find.

Pete Coors of Colorado, who recently vowed end his company's long-standing practice of covering abortions as part of its health care benefits package, in response to pressure from anti-choice organizations.

I don't think this was every part of Coors's strategy. I think he hopes his personality and style are less off-putting than Schaffer's, but I don't think he ever really planned to campaign as a moderate. I also think he planned to use his connections with the gay and Latino communities to soften their traditional opposition to All Things Republican, but it's become clear over time that that won't happen, either.

That said, it probably is to his benefit, and to the Republican nominee's benefit in general, that the race become as nationalized as possible. For some reason, Salazar seems to think he can run an effective campaign against the President in this state. My personal guess is that reminding Coloradoans of Tom Daschle is probably a losing proposition.