Kid Rock, Gov. Join Romney In Colorado

What do Kid Rock, country singer Rodney Atkins and Gov. Susana Martinez have in common?

All three will join Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney and his vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan at a campaign stop today outside Denver.

The rally at Red Rocks Amphitheatre — an outdoor venue that seats more than 9,000 — will take place a day after the final debate between Romney and President Barack Obama and just two weeks before the Nov. 6 election.

Although a recent Journal Poll showed Obama leading Romney by 10 points in New Mexico, neighboring Colorado has emerged as a key battleground state in this year’s presidential race.

Obama claimed the state’s nine electoral votes in 2008, but they appear to be up for grabs this year. Both Romney and Obama have made numerous stops in Colorado in recent months, and their campaigns have flooded the state’s airwaves with political advertisements.

Martinez, who recently stumped for Romney in Nevada and has attended political events in Texas and Tennessee in the past month, will make the trip to Colorado and back in a day, according to the governor’s political consultant, Jay McCleskey.

The first-term GOP governor is expected to attend today’s meeting of the State Investment Council — she serves as the investment body’s chairwoman — before leaving for Colorado.

Lt. Gov. John Sanchez will serve as acting governor while Martinez is outside New Mexico.

The governor’s travel costs will be covered by the Romney campaign, McCleskey said.

Dan Boyd can be reached at dboyd@ abqjournal.com