Penry endorses Rankin for state senate

No surprise, but Colorado Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry has thrown his support behind Republican Bob Rankin for Senate District 5, a seat currently held by Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass Village.

“Bob Rankin is not a career politician," Penry says. "He has been very successful in the private sector, growing jobs and creating economic opportunity."

Rankin is a former executive in the aerospace industry and has owned two small businesses in Aspen.

The race is expected to be one of the most highly watched statewide. That and the matchup between appointed Sen. Bruce Whitehead, D-Hesperus, and state Rep. Ellen Roberts, R-Durango. Whitehead was appointed to the seat last year when former state Sen. Jim Isgar, D-Hesperus, resigned to work for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Senate District 5 includes Alamosa, Chaffee, Conejos, Costilla, Delta, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Mineral, Pitkin, Rio Grande and Saguache counties.