Best Behind-the-Scenes Political Power Brokers

With so much attention being paid to high-profile contests like the Salazar-Coors face-off, few people concentrated on races for the Colorado Senate and House of Representatives -- with four notable exceptions. Jared Polis, Tim Gill, Rutt Bridges and Pat Stryker, a quartet of well-heeled lefties, poured a total of almost $2 million into campaigns for these offices -- a staggering sum, given past election coffers. But you get what you pay for -- particularly when the other side doesn't know you're in the market. While Republicans made gains in most states across the country (especially the red ones), Democrats achieved majorities in both houses of the Colorado Legislature for the first time in forty years. It wouldn't have added up that way without this fearsome foursome.