D.C. Heavy Hitters Sign On with Colorado Dem Challenging Michael Bennet

Joe Trippi, Patrick Caddell, Celinda Lake and Liz Chadderdon.

It's a dream lineup of Democratic consultants, and they've signed on to work with Colorado U.S. Senate candidate Andrew Romanoff, who is challenging appointed incumbent Michael Bennet.They've worked for some star-studded Dems and left-leaning interest groups in the past: presidential candidate George McGovern, President Bill Clinton, former presidential primary candidate and national party chairman Howard Dean, NARAL, SEIU, AFL-CIO, and the Sierra Club.

Lake will be the campaign's primary pollster, according to Romanoff spokesman Dean Toda, while Chadderdon will handle mailings.

"Pat Caddell and Joe Trippi will be providing advice, essentially, media and strategic advice," Toda said.

What does it mean that they've signed on with Romanoff? Well, first he must be planning to report some big bucks in the FEC filing due Sunday, even though his ActBlue totals are dwarfed by Bennet's. These folks don't come cheap.

Second, Romanoff may be trying to regain credibility some perceive as lost when he dallied with getting into governor's race early this month.

Some see irony in Friday's announcement, however.

"Those are all good people that I have worked with and are friends of mine," said Mike Stratton, a Democratic consultant, who is supporting, but not working for, Bennet. "It seems a little contradictory to me that Romanoff has said the theme of his campaign is he's the hometown boy and he's running against Washington. Now the entirity of his team are Washington types."

Romanoff may need such power in the race. Bennet raised more than $1 million in the fourth quarter of 2009, bringing his total to more than $4 million. Romanoff hasn't announced his Q4 take yet. The Bennet camp is not quite so D.C.-based, with a Colorado polling firm and campaign manager Craig Hughes, state coordinator for President Obama in 2008 and a former Western states coordinator for Clinton.

Bennet will get some Washington help next month, though, when Obama visits Colorado to campaign for him.