September 06, 2016 10:50 AM UTC

Schwartz-Tipton Debate Could Be Club 20's Main Event

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• by: Colorado Pols

As the Grand Junction Sentinel’s Gary Harmon reports, next weekend’s debates at the Club 20 2016 Fall Conference in Grand Junction are provoking a lot of interest on both sides of the Continental Divide. The nominal headliners on Saturday of course are Sen. Michael Bennet debating his Republican opponent Darryl Glenn–but given the lopsided polling in that race for Bennet, another debate earlier in the evening could be the most interesting:

U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton, a Republican, and state Sen. Gail Schwartz, a Democrat, will debate for the first time at 5:30 p.m. The two are vying to represent Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, which includes most of the Western Slope and much of southern Colorado.

Amendment 69, the initiative which would set up a single-payer health care system in Colorado, will be debated at 6:30.

U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, a Democrat, and El Paso County Commissioner Darryl Glenn, a Republican, will meet for the first time in the 7:15 p.m. debate.

For a number of reasons, the CD-3 race between Republican incumbent Rep. Scott Tipton and Democratic challenger former state Sen. Gail Schwartz could become the breakout “sleeper race” in Colorado this election season. Schwartz’s very strong fundraising out of the gate after getting in the race fairly late in the game puts her in an excellent position to run hard against Tipton over the next two critical months. Tipton has kept his mouth largely shut about his party’s embattled nominee Donald Trump, but make no mistake, he’s on the record via a spokesman:

U.S. Rep Scott Tipton, who is seeking a fourth term in the House, is a Trump backer, said his campaign spokesman, because, “Our country cannot afford a third Obama term.”

You can bet that Tipton will be asked Saturday evening if he still feels that way! And not just the inevitable questions about Trump–from Tipton’s “family business” controversy earlier in his congressional career to more recent allegations that Tipton let energy industry lobbyists write his bills, and much more–we’ll be watching to see Gail Schwartz go after Tipton with gusto at Club 20.