Ken Buck, one of a handful of Senate candidates this year riding a wave of Tea Party support to victory in his Republican primary, is no stranger to extremism. Yet the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll in Colorado shows him leading Sen. Michael Bennet (D) in the U.S. Senate race, 49% to 40%.

It’s still early and poll numbers are changing daily, but these latest results are all the more reason why it’s important for the public to know that Buck, while running in his primary:

• said voters should pick him because he does not “wear high heels” (his primary opponent was a woman),
• said of Social Security and Medicare, “the idea that the federal government should be running healthcare or retirement or any of those programs is fundamentally against what I believe and that is that the private sector runs programs like that far better,” and
• questioned the constitutionality of Social Security, displaying a flawed Tea Party-understanding of the Constitution that even former Bush speech writer and conservative Washington Post op-ed columnist Michael Gerson thinks is scary and could be “toxic” for the GOP.

Buck also called the “progressive liberal movement” is the “largest threat” to the country, saying it poses a bigger threat than al Qaeda or Iran.

Senator Bennet is just one solidly progressive Senator facing a tough challenge from a radically far-right challenger. Just another piece of evidence that progressives have our work cut out for us this election. We here at People For hope you’ll stand with us to rise to the challenge.