Schaffer is back on the stump
Republican candidate Bob Schaffer plans to hit the trail this week after taking a break from campaigning while his wife, Maureen, underwent surgery to remove a benign tumor on her auditory nerve, the Rocky’s Lynn Bartels reports.

“The surgery went great and if Maureen continues to do as well as she is doing, Bob probably will return to Colorado Thursday,” said Dick Wadhams, Schaffer’s campaign manager and chair of the Colorado Republican Party.

Maureen Schaffer cannot fly for 10 to 14 days after surgery and will remain in Arizona for a few days.

Club 20 debate agreement inked
Schaffer, who had already decided to skip this week’s Republican National Convention, will join Wadhams on Saturday at a Colorado Springs rally for John McCain and then “hoof it” to Grand Junction for the Club 20 debate with Democrat Mark Udall. CU Regent Tillie Bishop, a former legislator and Mesa County commissioner, will moderate the hour-long debate, set for 7:30 p.m. at the Two Rivers Convention Center.

Schaffer drew fire in April when he skipped the Western Slope civic group’s annual spring conference but attended a Grand Junction fundraiser with Vice President Dick Cheney days later.

Udall camp attracts record crowds in GOP strongholds
Meanwhile, the Udall campaign reports record crowds turned out last week when the 2nd District congressman toured Southwest Colorado during the DNC. Local Democratic groups had “never seen crowds like this,” says Udall spokesperson Tara Trujillo, who noted 120 turned out in Cortez and 200 rallied in Durango. To top it off, 350 showed up at a suburban Highlands Ranch gathering on Sunday as the Udall campaign made its way back to the metro area.