July 02, 2024 01:50 PM UTC

Gabe Evans: Too MAGA To Pivot

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• by: Colorado Pols

With the June 25th primary elections now in the rearview mirror, we’ve arrived at the moment in the campaign when Republican candidates running in competitive Colorado races traditionally shift their message gears from the partisan red meat that propelled them to victory in the GOP primary to the “kinder, gentler Republican” more compatible with the broader range of voters they’ll encounter in the general election. In 2012, an aide to GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney likened the process to “shaking the Etch-a-Sketch,” as if a candidate could simply shake off the immoderate positions they took during the primary and reset their message for the general election with no consequences.

That’s what you’re supposed to do, but as 2022 gubernatorial loser Heidi Ganahl can tell you, it doesn’t always work out. And for GOP state Rep. Gabe Evans, running in Colorado’s most competitive congressional race, the “pivot” hasn’t yet materialized. After winning the primary last week, Evans appears to have substantially revamped his campaign website. But on Evans’ new endorsements page, the biggest name Evans enlisted in his support is not only still at the top of the list, but expanded to highlight their co-brand:

We wrote yesterday about the “Trump Debate Money Bomb” that Evans posted and later deleted from his Facebook page. But on Evans’ website, as you can see, Evans is not just campaigning on but doubling down on the endorsement he received from ex-President Donald Trump. Although Evans won the CO-08 primary by a margin that suggests Trump’s endorsement might not have been necessary, Evans was still worried enough about his primary opponent to arrange it despite the problems it could cause for Evans in the general election.

As of today, one week out from the primary, we can report that Gave Evans is standing by his man.

Now it’s a question of how that ages by November.