Mark Benner

On Jan. 9, a 52-year-old former police officer and ski patrolman named Gail "Buddy" Moore walked into Colorado Democratic Headquarters in Denver and said he wanted to run for the United States Senate.

"Nobody knew who he was," said state Democratic party political director Billy Compton. "We had to look him up."

Unfortunately for Moore, state law and Colorado Democratic Party rules require political candidates to be registered with the party for at least a year before the November general election: Moore only signed up to be a Democrat last December.

He may not have the support of rich donors, his state party leader, or even his high school art students.

But Mark Benner hopes his run for the U.S. Senate will help promote issues he feels are being ignored by the other two candidates in the race – such as creating a universal health care plan for America, impeaching President Bush and other administration officials, and stopping military and utility privatization.

Democrat Mark Benner will challenge Congressman Mark Udall for the Democratic nomination in the race for the U.S. Senate, the Denver Post reports.

"It was a hard decision, but I couldn't keep up this, 'Will I, won't I' flip-flop," Benner, an art teacher, tells the paper. "But I don't feel like I'm running against Udall. I'm running for Senate, and I intend to win."