Nomination could set off chain reaction in Colo.

DENVER - The expected nomination of Democratic U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Colorado) to President-elect Barack Obama's Cabinet could set off a series of political dominoes in Colorado.

An official familiar with the selection of Obama's Cabinet said Monday that Obama has chosen Ken Salazar as interior secretary. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they weren't authorized to disclose any personnel decisions not yet announced. A Colorado congressional source said Monday that Salazar has accepted the offer.

Colorado's Governor Bill Ritter says he has mixed emotions over the pick.

"Ken Salazar is a very effective United States Senator," said Ritter. "We'll miss him, but I also think he has the potential to be one of the greatest Secretaries of the Interior that this country's seen."

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, Rep. John Salazar, and House Speaker Andrew Romanoff are considered possible replacements for Salazar's senate seat.

Whoever is appointed to fill the seat would serve until the next general election in 2010, then would be required to stand for election if he or she still wanted the job.

Ritter, however, did not want to speculate on a possible replacement in the U.S. Senate.

"We're going to wait and we'll have a process in place when the nomination is final... I'm not going to speculate on the process," said Ritter. "We hear people talking about it outside the governor's office and we are mindful that there is a great deal of work to be done at the very beginning of Congress, the very early parts of January, so we'll take all that into consideration and we'll have more to say certainly when the nomination's made."

In the position, Salazar would oversee agencies like the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Geological Survey and have the opportunity to work on land and water issues he has been interested in during his whole legal career.

"As an individual, Ken is one of these people in the West who understands public lands," said Ritter. "He understands water issues, the intersection between public lands and the extractive industry. Those are really important for the next Secretary of the Interior particularly because the President-Elect is going to let the next Interior Secretary be part of his energy team."

Salazar was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004 over Republican Pete Coors and had held his first re-election fundraiser last week. His campaign promoted the fact it had been hosted by both Democrats and Republicans and collected nearly $400,000.

Under Colorado law, Gov. Bill Ritter (D-Colorado) would appoint someone to fill the remainder of Salazar's term and then, stand for election in 2010.

The Secretary of the Interior is a Cabinet position and requires the approval of the full U.S. Senate. The position is eighth in the presidential line of succession.

If Salazar assumes the position, he will become the second former Colorado Attorney General to hold the position. Gale Norton was President Bush's Secretary of the Interior from 2001-2006.

"Ken Salazar is a very good pick when you look at his credentials. He was the head of the State Department of Natural Resources, which deals exactly with the issues that the Interior Department deals nationally with," said 9NEWS Political Analyst Floyd Ciruli.

Salazar is a first-term Colorado Senator who has established a name for himself on public lands and energy resources issues. He headed the Colorado Natural Resources Department from 1990 through 1994. The Interior Department has broad oversight over the nation's energy resources and environment. It oversees oil and gas drilling on public lands and manages the nation's parks and wildlife refuges.

Salazar was not the only Coloradan thought to be joining the Obama Cabinet. His brother, Rep. John Salazar (D-Colorado), had been mentioned as someone who could be Secretary of Agriculture, but he was recently appointed to the powerful House Appropriations Committee.

Denver Public Schools Superintendent Michael Bennet had also been mentioned as someone who could become the new Secretary of Education, but Obama announced Tuesday his choice of Chicago schools chief Arne Duncan to serve in the post.