The first week or so of October could be busy in Colorado political circles.

Look for a “major announcement” in early October from District Attorney George Brauchler.

The Arapahoe County Republican continues to weigh whether to run for the U.S. Senate seat held by Democrat Michael Bennet, pegged as the lone incumbent Senate Democrat considered vulnerable in next year’s election. (Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid used to be paired with Bennet for that distinction but isn’t running for another term.)

But Brauchler — who says the decision most definitely doesn’t depend on the wooing of powerful D.C.-types but instead on whether or not it’s the right course for him and his family — isn’t alone among prominent Republicans weighing their odds and checking their guts over a possible run for the seat.

State Sen. Tim Neville, R-Littleton, has concluded his two-week listening tour and is hiking the Appalachian Trail with a trusted advisor this week, under startlingly beautiful foliage and deep in prayer over whether to toss his hat in the ring. He also says he’ll make his announcement early next month, as Statesman editor Ernest Luning reports this week.

Senate President Bill Cadman, R-Colorado Springs, has been under heavy pressure recently to join the race, but our sources tell us he’s not planning to jump in.

But his next-in-command, Senate Majority Leader Mark Scheffel, R-Parker, is another story. While the affable yet smart-as-a-whip Scheffel hasn’t been talked up much as a potential Bennet challenger yet, our sources tell us GOP insiders consider him a star in the making with many of the qualities that propelled Cory Gardner into the nation’s upper chamber last year when he upset Democrat Mark Udall. And our sources also tell us Scheffel is leaning toward a bid.

But all eyes, still, remain trained on Brauchler, the boyish DA who prosecuted the Aurora Theater Shooting trial.

Reached at his desk in Centennial earlier this week — contrary to rampant rumors, he wasn’t sequestered in a D.C. cloakroom and doesn’t plan to be anytime soon — Brauchler said he’s enjoying spending time with his young family, “doing kids’ sports stuff, piano, flag football and track.”

“The place I’m at,” he told The Statesman, “I’m going to make a big announcement in October.” The process to reach his decision is the same as he’s been saying all along: “I don’t have plans to go out to D.C.,” he said with a chuckle. “That’s not part of my process. My process is not to get the blessing of Washington D.C. My process is to get the blessing of my house, my neighbors and my community. That’s what my process has been.”