Jared Polis for Congress

Political party leaders in Colorado have been eschewing primaries in recent years, hoping to keep their candidates from getting battered too much and exhausting their financial resources before the general election.

It’s unfortunate. For voters, the benefits of a primary can be immense. (Although we know it may be hard to fathom, considering the almost mind-numbingly early presidential race and the thicket of candidates elbowing one another for months in advance of next year’s front-loaded primary process.)

But consider Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District, where there is a three-way race for the Democratic nomination. Voters are poised to get a much-needed airing of some critical issues, thanks to a primary.

This week, as if yanking a page from the Obama-Clinton war-of-words playbook, Democratic contender Jared Polis criticized Joan Fitz-Gerald’s 2003 support for President Bush’s invasion of Iraq.

Polis said he opposed the war from the beginning. Fitz-Gerald’s camp responded with a list of her votes on state Senate resolutions that showed she, too, supports a troop withdrawal.

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