Primary challengers are circling and sniffing in the 5th Congressional District, we hear. U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn, who has only sidestepped a primary once on the way to five terms representing the heavily Republican district, could be facing a bid by former House Minority Leader Mark Waller, R-Colorado Springs, though that might not be the extent of it.

If he runs, Waller would be the latest in a long line of GOPers who’ve tried to grab the nomination for the district. Lamborn, a former state lawmaker, emerged from a six-way primary in 2006, when longtime U.S. Rep. Joel Hefley retired after 10 terms and left the seat open. In 2008, Jeff Crank and retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Bentley Rayburn, who had both been among the hopefuls the previous election, ran again and lost. Lamborn had a clear shot to the nomination in 2010, but in 2012 businessman Robert Blaha ran against him in the primary. Last year, Rayburn mounted a last-minute challenge, winning nearly 48 percent of the vote.

After securing the nomination each time, Lamborn won some 60 percent or more of the vote against a mix of Democrats and third-party opponents.

Waller ran for attorney general last year, though he withdrew from a primary against the eventual statewide winner, Cynthia Coffman, after a disappointing performance among GOP assembly delegates. An Air Force veteran and attorney, he served three terms in the state House and has worked as a prosecutor.

Another potential contender — who shushed The Colorado Statesman from rumor-mongering — recently described the different terrain following the election of Steve House as state GOP chair. “It’s a whole different ballgame because the state party won’t be getting involved in primaries anymore,” the potential hopeful opined.

Demons and protestors

It’s been more or less dicey in the State Capitol environs in the last week, even prompting the Colorado State Patrol to issue rare warnings to lawmakers on a couple of occasions. And it’s not just the usual tension and late nights as sine die approaches, though that probably doesn’t help matters.

The dark of night turned even darker on Saturday when a couple of manhole covers exploded into the air and the power went out for blocks, from the Capitol east, a few streets either way. One wag suggested that the blow-ups and outages were the result of the Capitol’s resident exorcist working to flush out demons below the ground, but that’s the kind of thing wags will say. After an hour or so, the lights came back on and, we hear, any demons returned to their slumber.

On Monday, however, things turned dicier when protesters started shouting during a hearing on the Homeless Bill of Rights, causing officials to clear the room and brace themselves.

The next evening, several hundred marchers angry about the confrontations between police and protesters in Baltimore gathered near the Capitol, eliciting cautionary text messages to legislators, though soon they were headed down the 16th Street Mall toward Union Station. A full police escort surrounded the marchers, as is Denver’s policy. By the time they headed back up the Mall toward the Capitol, their numbers had dwindled and any threat appeared to have passed.

But it was a more confrontational protest visible across the street from the Capitol on Wednesday at the tail end of rush hour, when another group of demonstrators marched from Denver’s jail to the lawn along Broadway. Another warning went out to legislators. Police diverted traffic and moved in, clad in riot gear, eventually pepper-spraying some of the protesters and arresting 11, including eight men and three women. Police said on Twitter that two of the arrests were for felonies — assault on police and robbery — and the rest were misdemeanors, ranging from resisting police, disobedience to lawful orders, obstructing roadways and interference.