Ever notice how college football touts a “game of the century” about every other year? Just as I recall at least a half-dozen cases labeled the “trial of the century” in my lifetime. So it goes in the annals of hype.

But without exaggeration it can be noted that the Democratic battle to serve as Colorado’s next governor is unprecedented in terms of the stature of the candidates squaring off. Both Michael Bennet and Phil Weiser have been elected to statewide office multiple times. Both are prodigious fundraisers. Both belong to the upper ranks of Colorado’s Democratic elected officials.

In most instances, politicians maneuver and conspire to avoid such head-to-head clashes. Though not here and not now. Colorado is set to witness a true battle of heavyweights.

Weiser, the state’s Attorney General, has been long setting himself up for this run. The early surmise was that he might encounter Secretary of State Jena Griswold (until she faceplanted), Congressman Joe Neguse and yesteryear’s powerhouse, Ken Salazar.

All three of those potential challengers deferred with Griswold setting her sights on Weiser’s current office. Then Colorado’s senior senator surprisingly entered the fray.

The path from the attorney general’s office to the governor’s chair is rather common these days on the Democratic side. Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro, North Carolina’s Josh Stein and Washington state’s Bob Ferguson all took this route.

Going from the august chambers of the U.S. Senate to the governor’s office is far less typical. Most often, the train runs in the other direction. Though Bennet can point to one Colorado example as “Big Ed” Johnson served three terms in Washington before returning home for a two-year gubernatorial stint.

Bennet brings a long record and a host of advantages. Perhaps his most imposing task will be to explain to primary election voters why he feels called to depart the Senate at a time when Democrats consider Washington goings-on to be a blazing hot, five-alarm fire.

As President Donald Trump dictates the terms of virtually all political debate, that will be the case in this race as well.

I-70 east may be in complete disrepair, I-70 west may be a parking lot and the state’s coffers may be empty – as the 20 questions I posed a few months back might go shockingly unanswered – but Colorado’s next chief executive is almost certain to be that candidate seen as taking the fight to Trump with most energy and effect.  

In prepping this column, I reached out to a handful of leading Democratic operatives for their take and prediction. A good number think the odds favor Bennet given conventional yardsticks.

One close observer offered, “Higher name ID, a larger national fundraising base and a mostly uncontroversial reputation in the Democratic Party favor Bennet.”

Those calling a Bennet victory acknowledge the distinct possibility of an upset. An insider with ties to the party’s left flank said, “I genuinely believe that Phil will win.” Democrats are “looking for fighters, and there is a lot of anger being pointed at long-serving politicians who are more of the go-along to get-along variety.”

In that last quote lies the essence of Weiser’s message. He brandishes himself as the uncompromising warrior who has taken on Trump via lawsuit after lawsuit through both presidential terms.

Weiser will try to box Bennet in by making him defend his votes to confirm a number of Trump’s Cabinet choices. If Bennet mounts a vigorous defense of his senatorial record, “the comeback writes itself,” as one analyst put it, meaning that it begs the question of why the Senator wants to walk away from that job.

A bumper sticker said to be already in the works in the Weiser circle reads simply, “Weiser for Governor; Bennet for Senate.”

The Bennet message is slower to take form and will, of necessity, be more nuanced. He faces three imperatives. He must show himself equally spirited in countering the Trump agenda. He must distance himself from the U.S. Capitol and immerse himself in the language of state and local politics. Bennet’s recently announced opposition to the proposed Buc-ee’s development in the northern reaches of El Paso County is such a nod.

And he must convincingly answer that baseline question of “why.” It is undoubtedly clear in his mind, but that does not always translate to terms understood by voters. History nerds can search for Ted Kennedy’s 1979 interview with Roger Mudd.

Indeed, this column has focused exclusively on the Democratic primary. The odds are overwhelming that its winner will govern our state.

If State Senator Barb Kirkmeyer joins the Republican field, as expected, and if she can survive the wackadoodle gauntlet of her party’s nominating process, at least the GOP will have a highly credible standard-bearer. That would be a major step forward, even as it is hard to imagine her party’s return to full competitiveness quite yet.

Eric Sondermann is a Colorado-based independent political commentator. He writes regularly for ColoradoPolitics and the Gazette newspapers. Reach him at EWS@EricSondermann.com; follow him at @EricSondermann