A multimillion-dollar gambit by Democrats to prop up GOP primary candidates in Colorado perceived as vulnerable in the general election flopped Tuesday night.
Democratic groups backed three key Republican candidates who were viewed as more extreme than their more centrist opponents. However, the strategy failed, costing Democrats millions as all three lost their primary races to contenders perceived as being more viable in the general election, delivering a blow to a test case for the spoiler strategy aimed at stifling an expected red wave. The three losses occurred in races for Senate, governor, and the 8th Congressional District.
DEMOCRATS POURING MILLIONS TO PROP UP ELECTION SKEPTIC IN COLORADO GOP PRIMARY
Two of the three Democrats preparing to face off with the Republicans in November don’t appear to be in danger of losing their positions, regardless of their opponents, because polling shows they both hold double-digit leads.
“The Democrats proved throughout this primary that they are afraid. They spent millions of dollars in illegal and false mailers because they know Michael Bennet and Jared Polis are in trouble. They are afraid because their candidates have failed. They are a rubber stamp on the Biden agenda of record-breaking gas prices and costly inflation,” the Colorado Republican Party said after the primary results came in.
On Tuesday night, Democrats’ preferred contender for Senate, state Rep. Ron Hanks, lost to businessman Joe O’Dea, Greg Lopez lost to businesswoman Heidi Ganahl, and former state Rep. Lori Saine was defeated by state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer in the 8th Congressional District’s GOP primary.
In the race for Senate, Democrats spent at least $4 million on mailers, advertisements, and other communications to voters backing Hanks, who was vying for the Republican nod to unseat three-term incumbent Bennet in the Senate. Hanks has argued there was enough “evidence of fraud in multiple states” to support claims that President Joe Biden was not fairly elected.
“Ron Hanks believes Pres. Biden’s election was a fraud. If elected, he’ll try to ban all abortions, and basically get rid of gun control laws,” a text from Democratic Party volunteers to Republican voters said, per the Denver Post.
O’Dea triumphed over Hanks Tuesday night, 54.5% to 45.5%. O’Dea has maintained that Biden was legitimately elected president and has taken comparatively centrist positions on policy areas such as abortion.
For governor, Democrats propped up Lopez, who wants abortion banned in all instances and suggested that women who were raped should view their pregnancy as an opportunity, the Denver Post reported. The Democratic Governors Association distributed content describing him as “too conservative,” according to the outlet. Democratic super PAC Colorado Information Network similarly cut ads to prop up Lopez in the primary.
Ganahl beat him 53.5% to 46.5%. She was perceived as a more centrist contender. On abortion, for example, she supported increased restrictions with exceptions for rape, incest, and instances in which the mother’s health is in danger. Now she will face incumbent Polis in November.
In the 8th Congressional District, House Majority PAC funded over $46,000 worth of ads to back Saine, the New York Post reported. She was defeated by Kirkmeyer 40.1% to 20.5%.
“Do we really want a conservative warrior as our next member of Congress,” one ad backing Saine said, per the outlet. “Lori Saine: She’s way too conservative for Colorado.”
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In both the gubernatorial and Senate races, Democrats are defending the seat, while the 8th Congressional District is a newly formed seat the state garnered from the most recent census. Bennet and Polis have been running double-digit leads over their Republican rivals for Senate and governor, respectively.
Democrats do not appear eager to take anything for granted and have reportedly been concerned a red wave year could make traditional Democratic strongholds competitive for Republicans. Last November, for example, Republicans won the governor’s race in Virginia, which had been trending blue for years.
