Co≠man, Morgan spar on Trump, immigration

Final 6th District debate also eyed legislative records

U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman and Democratic challenger Morgan Carroll on Thursday, in their final debate, sparred over their approaches to immigration reform, their records as legislators and GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump’s comments about women.

In one of the more direct questions posed during the mostly cordial exchange, 9News anchor Kyle Clark asked about Trump: “Based on the claims that he has made, do you believe that Donald Trump is a sexual predator?”

“Well, I don’t know,” Coffman said.

Carroll, an outgoing state senator, said: “Yes. The definition of grabbing people without their consent is the definition of sexual assault (and) sexual harassment. It’s his words, not mine.”

That was not the only time Trump came up. Coffman, who is seeking a fifth term representing the 6th Congressional District in the Denver suburbs, has distanced himself for months from the Republican standard-bearer, sometimes in awkward ways borne out of necessity in a district with large immigrant populations.

This week, Coffman told 9News in an interview that after withholding his endorsement all year, he likely would not vote for president at all.

On Thursday night, the Marine veteran was asked whether he had shown personal courage in his handling of the issue.

“First of all, I think I was the first one to put out an ad separating myself from Donald Trump,” in early August, he said. “And then, certainly after the video, I was the first member of Congress to ask Donald Trump to step aside.” (He was among the first, but not the first.) “So I’ve certainly been consistent on my positions on Trump.”

Carroll replied: “This was too little, too late. What we saw (that) was dangerous in Donald Trump was obvious and repeated and overt a long time beforehand. What we’re seeing is political expedience. …

“If Donald Trump was up in the polls, I think we’d see a very different reaction (from Coffman).”

The 6th District, which