Democrat Michael Bennet, left, is running for a third term in the Senate against GOP candidate Joe O’Dea, who is the only Republican candidate in the competitive race not to be won by the former General. President Donald Trump agrees.
Bill Clark / CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images; David Zalubowski / AP
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Bill Clark / CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images; David Zalubowski / AP
Democrat Michael Bennet, left, is running for a third term in the Senate against GOP candidate Joe O’Dea, who is the only Republican candidate in the competitive race not to be won by the former General. President Donald Trump agrees.
Bill Clark / CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images; David Zalubowski / AP
Democrats have recently felt more optimistic about their prospects in this fall’s midterm elections, but Republicans are looking to the Rocky Mountains to antagonize the flip campaign spill control of their Senate.
GOP leaders hope their nominee in Colorado – construction company CEO Joe O’Dea – can flip the blue chair into red. He is the rare Republican to assert that President Biden won the 2020 election and thinks someone other than Donald Trump should lead the party in 2024.
“I’m going to advocate for others and we’re going to move the country forward, and that’s where I’ve come,” O’Dea said, referring to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as Trump alternatives.
Of the roughly a dozen races competing for the Senate this election cycle, O’Dea is the only Republican candidate who has not been endorsed by Trump. In the primaries, he defeated right-wing voter denier Ron Hanks – although Democratic groups in the state tried to elevate Hank’s candidacy.
The first candidate sticks to a central message. “Overall, we have to get rid of the partisanship that is preventing us from making good policies to move America forward,” O’Dea said. “And that’s why I’m running. I’m an independent thinker. I’m a conservative, but at the same time we have to do what’s right for Colorado, we have to do what’s right for the country. America.”
A key part of O’Dea’s strategy is reaching out to Latino voters, who could be the second-largest voting bloc in the state. At a Hispanic cultural event in Denver, O’Dea drank a pint of Mexican beer and bought his wife a pair of earrings from a local vendor after talking to NPR about his offer to the voters. tri.
Unlike much of his party, O’Dea supports protections for Dreamers and advocates the path to citizenship for millions of undocumented workers. He said Congress should pass legislation addressing both border security and the legal status of immigrants. But he insisted that Hispanic voters told him they were focused on the same things as all Coloradoans.
“They are worried about gas prices and this record crime taking over the city is on their mind,” he said.
O’Dea insists if his party takes control and has a narrow majority that he will not vote in defiance of GOP leaders when it comes to issues like abortion and immigration. “If they want my vote, then they’re going to have to earn it. And they’re going to have to turn things around to make sure I can honor my word,” O’Dea said.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., praised O’Dea’s campaign. With other GOP candidates underperforming in the polls in competitive races in Pennsylvania, Arizona and Georgia, there is a close eye on whether the Senate Leadership Fund, the affiliated super PAC with McConnell, whether to invest resources in the state.
After tea at a local coffee shop in Denver, incumbent Michael Bennet, who retained a significant edge in the fall prep fundraiser, pushed back against the notion that O’Dea was a moderate. can compete here.
“That’s the national media’s interpretation of what’s going on in this race,” Bennet said.
Inflation, housing and abortion are major problems in Colorado
Bennet spent most of August traveling across the state Law passed by the Democratic Party to reduce prescription drug prices and invest in climate programs. He agrees with his opponent that voters are very focused on inflation.
“What people have to pay for food and gas is a challenge,” Bennet said. “But I think my feeling is that people are really seeing Washington starting to work again.” “And after four tumultuous years for Donald Trump, that’s really welcome.”
Most of the shoppers and vendors NPR spoke to at the last week of the Green Valley Ranch summer farmers market north of downtown Denver had no idea who would run in the Senate race. in November. But they have strong feelings about what’s important for their vote this fall.
Leon Smith, who sells kettle corn, says “home and jobs” are his priorities. Smith voted for former President Trump, but he told NPR he doesn’t feel obligated to vote for any party this fall.
“Right now, I just want to keep it,” he said. “I just want to keep it until I’m confident. And I see what each side is doing right now. Each side is still tit-for-tat. They’re not settling anything.”
For Democrat Linda Wilson, one issue is of primary concern – abortion. “When I was young, I had the right to choose, because I was pregnant before I got married. It was a choice. It was not a choice that I would choose for myself. But I have the right to choose. there,” she said.
Abortion could be O’Dea’s biggest challenge in the race
Republicans support some abortion rights, but he is running in a state with a long history of defending access to abortion. The state codified its protections this year — a law that O’Dea opposes. He also voted for a ballot measure in 2020 that would ban abortions after 22 weeks without exception. That’s the sound of being defeated.
O’Dea omitted whether those positions would misplace him with a majority of Colorado voters. Instead, he insists that abortion is legal: “I believe, the first five months, the mother has the right to choose. After that, there should be some exceptions: rape, incest, sex mother’s life.” But ODea said he supports Trump’s Supreme Court appointees who vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. Abortion rights advocates say the stance is inconsistent.
Impressed by his point, O’Dea told NPR, “I believe in good conservative judges. I like that. But I don’t believe in the decision they make.” He said he would represent his constituents if a nationwide ban on abortion was introduced in the Senate.
But Bennet argues O’Dea’s views on abortion, along with his stances on other issues, will displease Colorado voters: “He’s the Republican candidate in this state. Colorado And he said that Trump is not responsible for what happened in January. 6. That should be disqualified, does not speak to his views on Roe v. WadeYou know, his views on the economy going down have left Colorado and so many parts of the country unable to afford the people who are working. “
Trump as a factor in the midterms
When O’Dea deliberately pivoted away from the former president, Bennet said, “Trump has, in fact, ignored everything.” Bennet said at every town hall he’s been at since Trump was elected, he poses a threat to democracy.
Trump was not on the ballot in November, but was the one who made up most of the voters NPR spoke to around the Denver metro area.
Philip Cardenas, a freeze-dried candy seller at the Green Valley Ranch farmers market, plans to support Bennet. He admits he doesn’t know anything about O’Dea but says he’s concerned about extremism from the GOP.
“I think the majority of Americans are purple. I mean, if the climate were different, I certainly would – and I think a Republican president would do better – I would vote. But they’re too far away right now, with the MAGA crowd,” Cardenas said.
Leon Pommer, a Republican shopping at Cabela’s outdoor store in Thornton, Colo., said he voted for Trump and credited him for keeping energy prices lower during his term. “He’s been really good about gas prices. You know, he’s allowing fracking that’s going to lead to the pipeline going down from Canada, which keeps prices lower.”
Pommer, along with his wife Karen, said they plan to support O’Dea, but Karen said she left the Republican Party to become an independent this year. “I was disillusioned with Trump,” she told NPR. “I don’t think he’s honest.”
O’Dea called January 6 “a black eye for the country” and praised former Vice President Mike Pence for his actions that day.
Democrats believe recent policy bill shows Congress can work
Complaints about partisans blocking action are actually common from voters across the political spectrum.
Lynette Vigil, a mother of seven, says housing costs are getting out of control. But she doesn’t have much faith that Congress will do much of that. “It’s a circus,” she said. “There’s no other word for it. It’s a circus. I feel like people are living in an alternate reality.”
Bennet told NPR he was frustrated, but pointed to a series of recent bills as evidence that the Senate was working.
“I mean, it’s hard to imagine someone being more disappointed with Washington, DC, than I am. But I would say that over the last 12 months or so, it’s been truly amazing to see what has been accomplished. , most are in a bipartisan party – Republicans and Democrats working together,” Bennet said. “And I don’t think that should be discounted.”
ODea’s goal to appeal to independents and Democrats is that he is willing to compromise. But Bennet says this election is a choice – between a party that has made some headway to bring down prices high or a side led by a dominant leader still fighting over the last election.
