(Promoted by Colorado Pols)
This election may be remembered as the year most Republican candidates in Colorado decided not to speak out against Trump. And paid the price.
Across the country, only two Republicans congressional candidates have aired ads distancing themselves from the president.
But the pressure to say something about Trump has spiked in recent days as the President’s rhetoric–widely regarded as offensive–has escalated.
There’s his continued attacks on Democrats who received pipe bombs. And the press is the “true enemy of the people” (after CNN got bomb threats). And his ongoing falsehoods about rag-tag migrant invaders being a serious danger to the country. And more.
Yet, in Colorado, the chosen response of most Republican candidates is silence.
In perhaps the state’s two most important races, taking place in suburban battlegrounds where anger at Trump is high, Republican candidates have yet to say a word about the president.
Christine Jensen, who’s running for a Wheat Ridge senate seat, describes herself as sitting on the right wing of the Republican Party and specifically aligns with Trump on wanting to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
But when asked on her campaign website where she stands on Trump, Jensen won’t say. And she doesn’t return calls seeking comment on the President.
Neither does Republican Beth Martinez Humenik, who’s fighting Democrat Faith Winter to retain her Adams County state senate seat.
There are exceptions. Just yesterday, speaking on KLZ 560-AM, Colorado state house candidate Toren Mushovic readily spoke about Trump, saying the President has done “some things that I think are really great” and “some things that I wish he would do in a different way.”
Voters ask Mushovic about Trump “a lot” when the candidate is going door-to-door in his Arapahoe County-area district, and he thinks they’re wrong to ask him about the President. They need to remember that local leaders have more impact on individual citizens than the federal government does, he said on air.
Other candidates who’ve broken the silence on Trump include Walker Stapleton, the GOP candidate for governor, who embraced the President’s endorsement, and George Brauchler, the Republican running for attorney general, who’s said the country is “in pretty damn good hands” with Trump.
These Republicans aren’t the norm. With few Trump questions coming from local journalists, candidates are remaining silent–and they’ve apparently been happy that way, so as not to make die-hard-Trump-supporting Republicans mad.
But Trump’s indecency makes the silence really uncomfortable, as Mushovic finds when he talks to voters on their doorsteps.
After all, inside many of the houses that Mushovic stands in front of, the television is on and the President is screaming out of it. Perhaps Mushovic has even heard Trump from the porch.
There’s still a few days to go, and Colorado Republicans may get so uncomfortable that they’ll condemn Trump’s behavior.
If not, Tuesday’s election could be remembered more for what was never uttered than everything, including all the negative ads, that was heard.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
BY: 2Jung2Die
IN: Tuesday Open Thread
BY: joe_burly
IN: Tuesday Open Thread
BY: harrydoby
IN: Tuesday Open Thread
BY: Pam Bennett
IN: Tuesday Open Thread
BY: JohnInDenver
IN: Tuesday Open Thread
BY: JohnInDenver
IN: Tuesday Open Thread
BY: ParkHill
IN: Tuesday Open Thread
BY: 2Jung2Die
IN: Tuesday Open Thread
BY: ParkHill
IN: Tuesday Open Thread
BY: spaceman2021
IN: Lauren Boebert Picks Up George Santos’ Favorite Side Hustle
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter to stay in the loop with regular updates!
I think there is a response. Magellan's assessment of women's votes, comparing 2014 to 2018:
2014 2018
Republican 212,521 184,176
Democrat 199,277 222,084
Unaffiliated 126,392 154,996