Saying she had become “more and more alarmed about the direction our nation is headed,” Jane Norton, a Republican and former lieutenant governor, formally launched her 2010 campaign for the U.S. Senate today with rallies spanning the state, including one at the downtown Antlers Hilton.

Norton’s theme here and at appearances in Denver and Grand Junction was the size and reach of the federal government.

“At every turn, Washington’s giant hand seems to be grabbing everything in sight,” she said, “seizing control of our car companies, banks, insurance companies, exploding the national debt and chipping away at individual liberty.”

She promised to be “a senator who will stand up to big government power grabs.”

Norton was Gov. Bill Owens’ lieutenant governor from 2002 to 2006, his second term. Before that she was his appointee heading the state Department of Public Health and Environment. Currently she’s executive director of the Denver Police Foundation. She lives in Englewood.

Norton joins five other GOP candidates seeking the seat now held by Sen. Michael Bennet, a Democrat.

Her principal Republican rivals are Weld County DA Ken Buck, Aurora City Councilman Ryan Frazier and former state Sen. Tom Wiens of Sedalia, whose campaign is still technically in the “exploratory” phase. He said Tuesday that he did not expect to make a formal announcement until next month at the earliest.

Norton said her “visions and values that match up with what Coloradans are thinking” separated her from the rest of the GOP field.

If there’s a local candidate it would be Wiens, whose old district includes northern El Paso and Teller counties.

But Norton appeared to have the support of much of the region’s Republican establishment. Colorado Springs Mayor Lionel Rivera and City Councilman Bernie Herpin, all five El Paso county commissioners, County Clerk Bob Balink, and Colorado Springs state Reps. Larry Liston, Bob Gardner and Mark Waller were seen in the crowd at the Antlers Tuesday, applauding Norton.

County Commissioner Wayne Williams contrasted the “excitement” surrounding Norton’s bid to the low-key campaigns mounted so far by the rest of the GOP field, and Gardner predicted that “Jane’s going to be so strong that she won’t have to fight” to win the GOP nomination.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee, which will have millions to spend on the Colorado race, may have signaled its favorite when it registered two Internet domain names on Norton’s behalf. The state GOP chairman, Dick Wadhams, complained last month about that move, but said Tuesday that the NRSC had assured him it would remain neutral.

Though she may be the most prominent figure in the Republican field, Norton has name recognition issues of her own. The limelight rarely shines on lieutenant governors, and Jane Norton is sometimes confused with Gale Norton, a former Colorado attorney general and interior secretary in the George W. Bush administration.

The first key date for Jane and the other candidates is the state GOP assembly next May, when any candidate getting 30 percent of the delegates’ votes will earn an automatic slot in an August primary. Others can petition onto the primary ballot. The survivor will face the Democratic nominee in the November election.

Bennet is by no means guaranteed the Democratic bid. He faces a strong challenge from former state Rep. Andrew Romanoff, who will be at the downtown Penrose Library Wednesday at 1 p.m. for his own campaign rollout.

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Former Lt. Gov. Jane Norton kicked off her bid for the U.S. Senate at the Antlers Hilton Tuesday morning 9/15/09. CAROL LAWRENCE,THE GAZETTE 9/15/09 Photo by

Carol Lawrence,The Gazette