President Barack Obama is scheduled to visit to Denver today to attend a fundraiser for Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) Bennet is defending his seat in one of the most competitive races in the country–rated a “toss up” by The Cook Political report. He faces a primary challenge by Andrew Romanoff, former speaker of the state house; the Republican challenger is Jane Norton (We blogged about her here.). So far Bennet has been far in the lead in the money race.

The same Capitol Hill townhouse that was the location of  a scheduled luncheon for Colorado GOP Senate hopeful Jane Norton today will be the site of a fundraiser for her would-be Democratic rival,  Sen. Michael Bennet tomorrow. Pitching in to help the incumbent raise cash will be his fellow Colorado Senator, Mark Udall.

Bennet has been rallying donor support outside Colorado in the face of a primary challenge from Andrew Romanoff, who has strong ties in the state, having served as state speaker of the house before being term limited out. Bennet, formerly Denver’s superintendent of schools, was tapped by Gov. Bill Ritter to take Sen. Ken Salazar’s seat when he became Secretary of the Interior.

Nearly 60 percent of Bennet’s large contributions ($200+) come from out-of-state donors, with New York; Washington, DC, and Los Angeles being his second, third, and fourth largest sources of cash next to Denver, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Williams & Jensen, a law and lobbying powerhouse that has reported $12.6 million in lobbying earning this year alone, runs the Capitol Hill townhouse, which is a popular site for fundraisers. The firm’s employees and PAC form the third largest source for federal candidates of lobbying campaign contributions so far this election cycle.

Next Monday in a Capitol Hill townhouse, a long list of GOP insiders are hosting a luncheon fundraiser for Colorado Senate candidate Jane Norton.

They include lobbyist Judy Black, wife of Charles Black (and Norton’s brother in law), who was a top advisor to Sen. John McCain in his presidential bid; member-of- Congress-turned-lobbyist Susan Molinari; and Maria Cino, who helped organize the 2008 Republican convention.

Many eyes are on the Colorado race, which will pit Norton, a former lieutenant governor, against the winner of a contested Democratic primary between Sen. Michael Bennet and Andrew Romanoff, who was speaker of the Colorado House before being term-limited out.

Norton is running with an anti-Washington message. At a forum for the GOP Senate candidates in Colorado Tuesday night, she said, “The very heart and soul of who we are as Americans is being eroded. We’re seeing Washington’s giant hand grabbing everything in site,” reported the Denver Post.

But her ties in high GOP places, Norton has been collecting a substantial amount of cash–40 percent of her take–from outside the state, with Washington, DC being her second highest source of contributions geographically, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

And this is not her first Washington fundraiser. In September, the Blacks hosted an event attended by about a dozen U.S. senators, reported the Denver Post.

Click on the names to see more information about other hosts for next Monday’s event: Becky Anderson; Sandy Brock,  wife of Bill Brock, a former member of Congress turned lobbyist; Marlene Calucci; Julie Cram; Missy Edwards; Peggy Ellis; Dorcas R. Hardy; Susan Hirschmann; Jennifer Jones; Susan Nelson; Rep. Ed Royce and his wife, Marie; and Pam Turner.