September 01, 2016 10:18 AM UTC

GOP House Candidate: I Only Want Big Oil Money

• 9 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE: We would be remiss if we didn’t add one bit of additional HD-50 history to this discussion: back in 2010, another Republican running for this seat sent a fundraising pitch that raised eyebrows for remarkably parallel reasons:

In a letter to Colorado lobbyists dated September 13th, Boswell opened with “Well, we’re getting down to the nut-cutting,” and went on to declare “I am going to win this race. The opportunity for you to align yourselves and your clients with the next Representative of House District 50 is now.”…

…The fundraising letter was one of three Boswell sent to lobbyists, but as this third letter notes, “maybe I’ve not sent out all the right signals.” That’s obviously still a problem for him. [Pols emphasis]

Bob Boswell lost in 2010 to Rep. Jim Riesberg, who was succeeded by Rep. Dave Young after Riesberg was appointed state Insurance Commissioner.

Obviously, Honeycutt hopes his own “nut-cutting” (see below) goes a little better.

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‘Tis the season for intensive fundraising by candidates at every level, and each election cycle we generally find ourselves treated to a variety of…imaginative fundraising pitches. Today’s fascinating example comes courtesy of John Honeycutt, the Republican House candidate in Greeley’s House District 50, challenging Democratic incumbent Dave Young:

TO: 27 SELECTED Lobby Professionals (Energy Sector)
CC: Lois Landgraf
FROM: John Honeycutt, Greeley GOP House District 50 candidate.

I’m seeking assistance ONLY from energy-relevant organizations. [Pols emphasis] Your name appeared alongside one or more of the organization’s listed below in a listing I was provided. If you (i.e., your lobby efforts) are not affiliated with one of these organizations, I included you on this email in error. I apologize.

Assuming I correctly identified your efforts to be affiliated with one or more of this companies, I’m requesting your assistance. You can review my background and positions at honeycutt dot us.

But for your quick review, I am pro-oil, pro-gun, pro-life. Of these, the only aspect I’m seeking assistance from are energy-related companies. [Pols emphasis]

Strange word choice aside, this is probably the first time we’ve ever seen a candidate declare that they are only seeking contributions from one industry, thus explicitly promising to be that one industry’s devoted toady in the legislature. For everybody not employed by that industry it’s kind of, well, unseemly.

Or at least it probably should be.

Thanks in advance if you’re interested in helping my campaign. My staff consists of one other person besides myself. We have been street-level handing out cards since my primary. We’ve met over 1,200 people combined and are not spending much money. Upcoming I have need for funding a social media campaign, a robo-call initiative and one or two “street blitzs” (sandwiches and t-shirts).

Social Media needs – $700 (targeting primarily UNC students)
Robo calls – $2,000 (targeting primarily Latino/Hispanic voters)
Street blitz – $40/person x 30 people = $1,200 (targeting primarily city of Evans)

$3,900 is needed.

No doubt Rep. Dave Young appreciates the heads-up on John Honeycutt’s old-school strategery, but seriously–$2,000 for robocalls targeting Latinos in HD-50? If you’re paying more than a few hundred dollars for robocalls into a much larger district than this, to say nothing about any kind of demographic filter, you’re getting ripped off. As for “blitzing” the city of Evans with 30 people making a whopping $40 apiece for their efforts…well, okay, but we’d say find some volunteers for that, and plow some more cash into the one thing he mentioned that might really be helpful–Facebook ads.

There’s a lot more we could say about Mr. Honeycutt, his “community outreach,” and his amateurish game plan–but he already said he doesn’t want our help! So good luck and stuff.