Colorado caucuses offering test for Dems, GOP in governor’s race
If the Colorado caucus on Tuesday is any indication, the governor’s race is a wide-open contest in both major parties.
A significant number of Democratic and Republican voters appear undecided about their favorite candidates and remain split on which offers their party the best chance to win in November.
Asked his candidate preference, 89-year-old Republican voter James Quinn of Arvada put it simply: “I really don’t know.”
The same sentiment extended to dozens of voters at caucus meetings in three key election battlegrounds in the Denver area and offers the first assessment of the top-of-the-ticket race.
The neighborhood-level gatherings at schools and churches across the state gave candidates an opportunity to qualify for the June primary ballot and revealed enthusiasm on the Democratic side before the 2018 election.
For Democrats, the caucus proved especially important. The party conducted a preference vote that allocated delegates to each candidate for the upcoming county assemblies. The party did not have a final statewide tally immediately available Tuesday, making it difficult to tell which candidate won the caucus.
The candidates spent months recruiting supporters to attend the meetings to win delegates and build support before the April state assembly, where candidates need 30 percent to earn a spot on the June primary ballot.
But even the Democratic voters who expressed a preference for a particular candidate suggested that their support is not set in stone.
“I’m still on the line between Cary Kennedy and Jared Polis,” said Kayla Tuite, a 30-year-old who caucused at Vikan Middle School in Brighton, which is key swing turf. “I think Jared probably has the best chance of winning, (but) I like Cary Kennedy.”
Tuite said she is concerned with Polis’ views on oil and gas drilling and guns. As for Kennedy, she said: “My only concern with her is I don’t know if she has the backing to win.”
Kennedy, the former state treasurer, is the only top Democrat relying on the caucus process to get her name on the ballot. Three other prominent candidates — businessman Noel Ginsburg, former state Sen. Mike Johnston and Polis — are trying to win delegates at the caucus but also are seeking to qualify through the petition process. Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne solely is collecting signatures to make the ballot.
“I’m really torn between Cary Kennedy and Jared Polis,” said Harry Doby, who caucused at Smiley Middle School in Denver. “I think both have really strong agendas and ... from their personal history, they are very capable of passing their agendas.”
Brighton residents Kathleen Furlong, 68, and her husband, Robert, 70, are supporting Polis for governor.
Both are retired teachers. Education and the environment are the two most important issues to the couple, and they believe Polis is the most realistic candidate.
“He wants to get Colorado dependent only on alternative fuels, and that’s really important to me. I’m not an oil and coal person,” Kathleen Furlong said.
Stapleton a favorite
On the Republican side, the party did not assign delegates through a poll.
But some counties are conducting a nonbinding straw poll to gauge support for their four top contenders, Attorney General Cynthia Coffman, former state Rep. Victor Mitchell, businessman Doug Robinson and Treasurer Walker Stapleton.
Coffman is the only top Republican seeking to earn a spot on the ballot solely through the caucus, which is a risky path, given her views on litmus-test social issues that don’t align with party activists.
In a handful of precincts at Ralston Valley High School in Jefferson County, Stapleton seemed to dominate the conversation. Several voters cited his ability to raise funds and win the general election.
“Walker Stapleton is the one I am voting (for),” said Kenny Lombardi, 45, of Arvada. Lombardi said he’s concerned about taxes and the size of government. “When he ran for treasurer, I liked what he had to say.”
Still, other Republicans who backed Stapleton in the straw poll said they weren’t ready to endorse him. The indecision is reflected in a recent survey of Republican voters by Magellan Strategies, which found that heading into the caucuses, nearly four in 10 likely primary voters remained uncommitted. As ballots were circulated in one precinct in Jefferson county, a voter remarked: “How am I supposed to know who these people are?”
Democrats see boost
At Smiley Middle School, two Democratic rivals — Johnston and Kennedy — caucused at the same location and competed for votes among their neighbors. Both candidates rallied the crowd of 357 with pointed comments about President Donald Trump.
Kennedy’s pitch drew loud cheers when she touted her plan to offer Medicaid health care coverage as an option to all and promised to “take on the Trump administration.”
Johnston invoked an inscription at the Columbine High School shooting memorial in his comments about the Republican president. “I would say these last two years have brought this country also to its knees,” he said. “Let all us all commit tonight to when we get up this time everything will have changed.”