Dem leaders greet voters at Fort Collins drive-thru
Early voting up among Colorado Democrats
It was a crisp morning for campaigning, but volunteers with the Larimer County Democrats turned out anyway on Tuesday to hand out yard signs and other gear outside of the party’s headquarters in For t Collins.
U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse and Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez also visited to talk with voters and help distribute promotional materials.
Cars were queuing up in the parking lot off Mason Street by 12:30 p.m. as masked volunteers passed signs adver tising presidential hopeful Joe Biden; U.S. Senate candidate John Hickenlooper and House District 52 incumbent
Cathy Kipp through car windows to drivers.
One Democrat volunteer, Jeanne Berryman of Loveland, said she decided to volunteer around two months ago out of frustration with the national political environment.
“It’s really going to make a difference if we can get a Democrat in the Senate,” she said. “A Republican president and a Republican Senate is why the whole Supreme Court thing went awr y.”
During the 2020 election cycle, Berryman said volunteers have helped local Democrat candidates adver tise by making phone calls and leaving information on doors while also facilitating voting by giving free rides to the polls.
Berryman said she felt the slate of Democrats up for election this year would amplify the voices of Larimer County voters.
“Some of these positions have never been filled by a woman before,” she said, mentioning Biden’s running mate Kamala Harris in par ticular. “It makes people feel heard when they’re represented.”
Early voting has surged across Colorado, particularly among registered Democrats, who had submitted 446,853 ballots to Republicans’ 264,804 as of last Wednesday, according to the Denver Post.
Neguse noted that Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District, which he represents, led the nation in voter turnout four years ago, tied with Minnesota’s 3rd Congressional District.
“It’s consistent with our record here in Fort Collins and Loveland,” he said. “We’ve created a system here in our state that’s really the model in our nation in terms of accessibility.”
He also said he has heard a greater-than-normal sense of urgency this year from voters eager to oust President Donald Trump, and brought up infrastructure funding, education spending and forest management as issues that he believed were at stake for Loveland voters in the presidential race.
“Folks have very passionate views, in my view, about turning the page on this administration and having a brighter future under President Biden,” he said.
Perez also mentioned the current wildfire season, which he linked to human-caused climate change, and the ongoing COVID-19 crisis as decisive issues for Colorado voters.
“There’s a lot of healthcare voters here in Colorado,” he said. “And they understand that Joe Biden is going to protect their healthcare and Donald Trump wants to take it away, real simple. They’re looking for leadership on COVID. The president’s given up. He has no plan, and we need a plan.”
Local candidates also appeared at the event — including Jeni Arndt, Gordon Mclaughlin and Jody Shadduck-mcnally — and mingled with voters and Democrat of ficials.
Shadduck-mcnally said she too was encouraged by conversations with Larimer County residents, and that local campaigning had paid off with a greater level of familiarity with the issues among voters.
“I think this year especially people understand the power of their voice and their vote,” she said. “It really is a matter of the direction of the future in our county.”