Coloradans in Congress unsure on RNC

U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, chair of the Colorado Republican Party, will attend the Republican National Convention next month, a party spokesman told The Denver Post.

Most years, that would be unremarkable and unsurprising. But the state’s three other Republican members of Congress have not said whether they will attend the event. It will be in Florida, which has witnessed record-high cases of coronavirus.

The event is scheduled for Aug. 25-27 in Jacksonville but details remain in flux, including the guest list. Nationwide, more than a dozen Republican senators and representatives say they will stay home. Some have cited health concerns.

A campaign spokesperson for Sen. Cory Gardner, a Yuma Republican, declined to comment this week. Spokespeople for Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colorado

Springs, and Rep. Scott Tipton, RCortez, did not respond to a request for comment.

Tipton is the only Republican member of Colorado’s congressional delegation who is not facing reelection in November, because he lost a primary late last month to Lauren Boebert, a Rifle Republican. Her campaign did not respond to a request for comment about whether Boebert will attend the convention in Jacksonville.

“I have never had any doubt about going,” said Randy Corporon, an RNC national committeeman from Colorado. “At least no reason to have doubt about it. But with so much up in the air, you never know.”

The Republican Party moved the convention from North Carolina to avoid that state’s health precautions. But the spread of coronavirus across Florida has brought new headaches and uncertainty.

“Any sane person is concerned about the virus,” said Corporon, a talk radio host and lawyer who represents several businesses that are fighting shutdown orders. “But I’m also concerned about the survival of our civilization.”

Democrats, meanwhile, abandoned their previous plans for a large convention in Milwaukee. They are largely transitioning to a virtual convention.