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July 18, 2017 10:06 AM UTC

Cary Kennedy Shuts Down The Critics

  • 15 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols
Cary Kennedy.

A press release yesterday from Democratic gubernatorial candidate Cary Kennedy announces the most important thing she needed to stay relevant in a changing primary landscape–a big fat pile of money:

Cary Kennedy, Democratic candidate for Governor of Colorado, today announced raising $343,000 dollars in the first financial quarter of her campaign for governor. Ninety-two percent of contributors to Cary’s campaign reside within Colorado; the campaign received contributions from 34 of Colorado’s counties. Kennedy is building a grassroots campaign with 1,705 donations, more than half of which were under $100.

“I am honored to have the support of so many Coloradans across our state,” said Kennedy. “Thank you to all of my supporters. Together we will work to make sure every Coloradan benefits from the progress we’ve made.”

Kennedy’s campaign has gained momentum as she engages her supporters across the state and it’s clear her statewide base is continuing to grow. Notably she was endorsed by EMILY’s List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics. If elected, Cary will be the first woman to serve as Colorado’s governor.

Cary Kennedy spent the first months of her campaign traveling across Colorado and connecting with voters. For example, she marched for science in Mesa county, helped build a trail in El Paso, met with voters in Grand County, paraded for Memorial Day in Adams county, toasted with supporters in Larimer and celebrated Cinco de Mayo, Pride and Juneteenth in Denver.

Cary Kennedy endured some ribbing after a campaign launch stunt that local news media spent an undue amount of time and energy deconstructing–so much so that we suspect it motivated her supporters to make a strong showing in a way nobody can ignore, Kennedy’s bottom line. Kennedy handily outraised Democratic opponent Mike Johnston, who was unable to sustain his huge first-quarter haul from out-of-state education reform interests. With the departure of Ed Perlmutter from the race, a window has opened for competitiveness with now-presumed frontrunner Jared Polis that Kennedy is well-equipped to exploit.

And really, hats off to Kennedy and her team. They did exactly what they needed to do to be taken seriously in this race.

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15 thoughts on “Cary Kennedy Shuts Down The Critics”

  2. Congratulations Cary!  

    With Perlmutter out (I really hope he takes some time off and reignites that fire in his belly in time for the 2020 Senate race), I need to take a closer look between Kennedy and Polis.

  4. She offers an alternative to Polis with both battling cultural hatreds (misogyny vs homophobia) so they both are barrier breakers and worthy standard bearers for the Democratic Party.  Will be interesting to see how this plays out.

    1. Personally, I would be happy with either candidate, but I'm afraid there's too much institutionalized homophobia for Polis to win statewide, therefore I'm pulling for Kennedy.  Crappy ally, I know, internalizing the opression…

      1. We have never had a woman governor but I don't know if we have ever had a woman secure the nomination of either major party.  As we have seen on the national stage, woman hating is also a huge factor in the voting booth.  A lot depends on the opposition of course but if 2018 is a revenge election to atone for 2016 then these Colorado Democrats have the potential to blow away the headwinds and do something historic.  I like it that that Polis isn't going to cruise to the nomination based on his bankroll.  He is going to have to earn it and engage in ways that weren't important in CD 2.  I saw him at a townhall meeting this spring and he was sharp and ready to answer any and every question no matter who it came from.  It was an impressive performance in front of a mixed crowd.  If Kennedy is as sharp then it ought to be a very good primary for the Colorado Democratic Party.

        1. Gail Schoettler in 1998 came within a few thousand votes of beating Bill Owens.

          Although to his credit, I don't recall Owens ever referring to Schoettler as "Such a nasty woman" during a televised debate.

  6. What's the big deal here? All the article talks about is raising money and attending events. How does that silence critics? And how exactly is she more qualified than Jared Polis? Polis has an unbroken string of service to the state over many years. Kennedy has been in nowhere-ville for quite a while now.

    Unless I see a quality candidate on my side of the aisle, meaning a decent R, I'll go with the candidate who has a strong record of support for public lands and the rural economy. That's not Cary Kennedy.

    1. From her wiki page: 

      She is a former Colorado State Treasurer, as well as a former Deputy Mayor and Chief Financial Officer of Denver, Colorado. She holds a bachelor's degree from St. Lawrence University, a master's degree from Columbia University and a law degree from the University of Denver School of Law. 

      Cary Kennedy worked as a budget analyst in Colorado Governor Romer's Office of State Planning and Budgeting and then as a fiscal analyst for the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing.

      In 2006, Kennedy ran for the office of Colorado State Treasurer and won against her Republican opponent, former State Treasurer, Mark Hillman. 

      She's been around for quite some time serving Colorado, as a policy wonk and figuring out where and how we need to invest in our state's future.

      Both she and Jared Polis are super bright and would do a great job.  As MJ55 said, we need to see and hear more from both on policy matters.

      1. With Cary, the emphasis is on "former." Polis is a serving elected official. Being state treasurer for a term is not the same as being an elected member of Congress. But as you say, we shall see. 

        1. Statewide campaigns are limited for both Kennedy and Polis, and if anything, Polis' win was underwhelming (90 vote margin). Both have found ways to continue their public service since then, and Kennedy's experience as Denver's CFO and Deputy Mayor seems more on point for the office of Governor than Polis' legislative experience.

          It will be interesting to see how the campaigns progress. And either seems more impressive than those now in the Republican race.

          1. And either seems more impressive than those now in the Republican race.

            You don't see serving one term in the state legislature (Mitchell), being Mitt Romney's nephew (Robinson), or managing to get consecutive life sentences after trial for a mass murderer who offered to plead guilty and avoid trial in exchange for multiple life sentences (Brauchler) as impressive credentials for our next governor?

            You are not easily impressed…..

  7. If elect-ability is a factor, it's probably a toss up between Kennedy and Polis….

    There's more homophobia then misogyny out there so that gives an edge to Kennedy.

    OTOH, and I hate to say this but it's necessary in the era of Citizens United, Polis is not in any danger of running out of $$$ when the Koch Brothers and the homophobic religious nuts start bashing him during the voting season. Edge to Polis.

    As for their track records in statewide races, that's a draw. Jared won his one and only statewide race in 2000 albeit by less than 100 votes and in a race to which no one paid any attention. Cary Kennedy won a statewide race but then went on to loss the next one. To a Bush cousin, no less.

    1. I hope Kennedy wins the nomination — I think she is the best candidate by far.

      I assume there will be some undertow for either a woman or gay candidate though Polis being a current member of Congress might be a stronger negative — along with being a "Boulder Democrat." I think he's a risky candidate to put forth when the GOP nominee is likely Neanderthal Brauchler.

      Johnson has a bad education law to defend. He's no champion of public education. He should be an also-ran.

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