Bennet energizes CD3 crowd, pitches for unity

U.S. Senator Bennet, who’s running for reelection against a host of Republicans, toured the assembly sites Friday. At the packed Congressional District 3 meeting, he celebrated the high energy and enthusiasm in the room and eased in a plea for party unity come November.

“I know we have a lot of Bernie supporters here tonight,” he said. Signs shot into the air. Sanders supporters hooted and clapped.

“I know we got a lot of Hillary supporters here,” he said. Clinton signs shot into the air and Clinton supporters erupted in applause.

“And I know you all will rally around our eventual nominee,” Bennet said, his often low-key, even conversational delivery growing punchy.

He mocked the Republican candidates as unfit for office. “I work with Ted Cruz,” he said shaking his head. “It’s sometimes hard for me to believe I have the same job title as he does,” he said as the crowd howled. “These guys (Donald Trump and Ted Cruz), they aren’t just Republicans. They’re the party frontrunners for the presidency.”

Bennet praised the party activists from participating in the party election process.

“CD3, you are here tonight to rescue our democracy.”

— john@coloradostatesman.com

CD4 Democrats deliver for Bernie, waver on any eventual support for Hillary

Colorado’s Congressional District 4 will send three delegates pledged to Sen. Bernie Sanders to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. Two of the district’s delegates are pledged to Hillary Clinton.

Sanders won 63 percent of the vote cast at the assembly Friday. His victory was celebrated by the boisterous Sanders supporters who packed the room at The Ranch Events center in Loveland.

A question hanging over the room and the state assemblies more generally has been how well Democrats will come together after the primary. If Clinton wins the primary, as many predict she will, will the army of new Democrats and first-time voters inspired by the Sanders campaign rally behind her to defeat her Republican challenger.

Arapahoe County resident Matt Brown, who was running Friday for election as a Sanders’ delegate, said he and others in the Sanders camp may support Clinton depending on what kind of presidency Clinton is likely to deliver.

“Looking at anybody on the Republican side, this is not the time for us to compromise, to go halfway and put up a mediocre candidate, whoever that candidate may be,” said Brown, a co-owner of an industrial hemp processing mill. “The answer is not for one side to just give into the other, to really come out of the convention a unified party. We also have to tack significantly to the left, more than the party has in recent years. … Regardless of how the votes fall come November, (if Clinton tacks to the middle) the big thing you’d see is a drop off in enthusiasm.”

Dacri Hudson, a Weld County resident who switched her party affiliation from unaffiliated to Democrat to vote for Sanders this year agreed.

“I think (Clinton supporters) would probably support Bernie,” she said, “but I don’t think a lot of the Bernie people would support her, because a lot of the Bernie people are not Democrats. Most of them were independent voters before this. I would have a super hard time voting for her. Everything I think I want, she’s not.”

That sentiment had Clinton supporters irked.

“I personally think it will not be a difficult process for Hillary supporters to get behind Bernie Sanders, because he has a very good message. We disagree with his approach because we don’t think it’s pragmatic — he hasn’t shown it’s pragmatic,” said Brittany Hartman, a Parker resident who is starting medical school this year and was running as a Clinton delegate. “This whole Bernie or bust movement is a little concerning to me. I hope that I can come and talk to them and reason with them and understand their viewpoints so that we can form a cohesive party.”

— Ramsey@coloradostatesman.com

— john@coloradostatesman.com

CD3 assembly taps former lawmaker Gail Schwartz to run to unseat Congressman Scott Tipton

The more than 500 rollicking CD3 delegates — the majority of them Bernie Sanders supporters — nominated former state Sen. Gail Schwartz, who now lives in Crested Butte, to run to unseat Western Slope Republican incumbent Scott Tipton.

Schwartz announced her candidacy just before the deadline earlier this month, taking the leap after party insiders reportedly had been wooing her for months.

Gordon Bronson, a Snowmass Democrat who worked at the Obama White House and for Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, announced that he was dropping his bid for the CD3 seat and throwing his support to Schwartz.

He dropped the news in a smoothly delivered speech. He said that Western Slope residents face serious challenges and deserve a strong leader in Congress to represent their interests.

“Gail Schwartz is that leader,” he said.

Schwartz also served for six years as University of Colorado Board of Regents from 36 counties of the Third Congressional District.

Dr. Steve Sheldon, an Eagle resident and veterinarian, gave a speech that started slow but had the CD3 crowd cheering for him in the end. He played up his outsider status.

He said that he called Congress to complain about partisan voting and gridlock and they said, in effect, that if he could do better, he should run for office. “I said, ‘Well, maybe I will, and here I am today,’” Sheldon said to cheers.

In the end, Sheldon won 29.8 percent, less than one vote short of making the primary ballot.

Schwartz won 70.2 percent of the vote.

— john@coloradostatesman.com

It’s official: Democrat Sheriff Casias running to take swing Senate seat from Crowder

Senate District 35 Democrats enthusiastically nominated Las Animas County Sheriff James Casias to run against incumbent Republican Larry Crowder.

The district spreads out across south eastern Colorado and is politically split roughly down the middle. Crowder won his seat in 2012 by 1,500 votes.

Republicans now control the Senate by one vote. Democrats control the House and the governor’s office and have been eyeing Crowder’s seat for two years, seeing it as key to winning back full control of the Capitol in November.

“I tell people back home how important the race is, but sometimes they’re leery. They feel like, Big deal. What does it do for us?. You know, we’re a large district in area but small in population. And all the counties are poor. We have that in common. We have nothing. You know, broadband, it’s not in a lot of these communities. We need it and Larry Crowder hasn’t delivered… People think the Capitol in Denver just won’t work for them. Sometimes they don’t know what a majority in the Capitol might mean for them.”

Also running for the seat is William Bartley, a libertarian candidate. Bartley ran in 2012 and won 2,500 votes, or 4 percent of ballots cast. If he gains traction this year, he might siphon crucial votes from Crowder.

“Right now, I’m focusing on raising $5,000,” said Casias. “If I can raise that before April 27, the party will give me another $5,000. As I mentioned, times are hard. I’m working on it. I say, ‘If you can afford it, please give. If you can’t, don’t do it. I won’t take it.’

“People are very supportive.”

— john@coloradostatesman.com

Vigil exit in House District 62 draws two strong candidates

Democrats have put forward two candidates to replace Rep. Ed Vigil, D-Fort Garland, for House District 62. Alonzo Payne and Donald Valdez will face off in this year’s Democratic primary. Each won more than 30 percent support from district assembly attendees in Loveland on Friday.

Payne is an in-house lawyer for the nonprofit Valley-Wide Health Systems. He said his experience in the healthcare industry and working for both Ken and John Salazar and for Senate Democrats on policy issues would allow him to quickly grasp the policy issues.

“I know my district. I’ve lived in San Luis my entire life… I know the issues facing my district,” Payne told The Statesman. “I’ll be able to go to the state House and take it and run. I know the system. I’ve worked with Senate Democrats doing policy work and so I’m familiar with what’s going to happen under the Gold Dome.”

Valdez, whose family farmed and ranched, worked as a deputy trustee for the Conejos County Treasurer’s Office before joining United States Department of Agriculture as a soil technician. It’s a rare thing in Colorado to see a man in a cowboy hat talk about the need to repeal the Taxpayer Bill of Rights and the benefits of the Affordable Care Act. Democrats at the HD 62 assembly loved it.

“I’ve learned a lot working for the county treasury, working for the clerks, and on land use with the assessor’s office. We have a lot of issues in our district and we need to keep moving forward and engaging our youth. They’re our future, they’re our business leaders, and it all starts with education,” Valdez said. “I’m the right candidate because I know this community. I know our natural resources and we need to keep protecting our natural resources and educating others on how to utilize more conservation practices for our water and our soil.”

— Ramsey@coloradostatesman.com

Senate swing-district candidate Tracy revved up by Al White endorsement Democratic candidate for state Senate District 8, currently held by Sen. Randy Baumgardner, R-Hot Sulphur Springs, speaks to supporters after accepting the nomination in Loveland on April 15. (Photo by Ramsey Scott/The Colorado Statesman) Emily Tracy, the Democratic challenger to Sen. Randy Baumgardner, R-Hot Sulphur Springs, believes the path to victory in rural northwest Senate District 8 is to win the support of moderate Republicans. Tracy already has the support of one of those — former state Sen. Al White, who had been running as an Independent for the seat but dropped out of the race this week and threw his support behind Tracy. There’s no love lost between White and Baumgardner. In 2012, Baumgardner defeated then-Sen. Jean White, Al’s wife, with the help of aggressive outside interests linked to Dudley Brown, head of rough and tumble political group Rocky Mountain Gun Owners. Ugly anti-gay rights mailers attacked White. Brown was later named in a lawsuit tied to the mailers. Tracy officially accepting the nomination from Democrats in SD 8 on Friday. She told The Statesman she’s well aware of the challenge she faces. “I think some (Republican voters) were struggling. They know Al White has been such a wonderful public servant. They see him as a more moderate Republican. People have worked with him in some of the counties. I know there were some torn allegiances there, and I think that his withdrawing from the race makes the choice more clear between Sen. Baumgardner and myself,” she said. “When we talk more about values — the values I have and share with the rest of the (Western) Slope, the seven counties in this district — I think people will understand that I’m much more aligned with the majority of those voters than Sen. Baumgardner has been.” Tracy said she and White had exchanged messages during the week but hadn’t actually had a chance to talk. She hopes to tap him to campaign in the district on her behalf. “I think Al and Jean White are outstanding public servants. They have a fine history with Colorado and with the Legislature and the Colorado Tourism Office. I’d be honored to have their continued assistance,” Tracy said. “We’ll have that conversation and see where he is with it. During her nominaton acceptance speech, Tracy struck at Baumgarder’s deciding vote against an I-70 tire chain bill sponsored by Rep. Diane Mitsch Bush, D-Steamboat Springs. The bill was supported by by business groups all along the I-70 corridor. Whether Tracy can turn discontent over that bill and other issues within the business community into financial support could be critical to her campaign. In January, Tracy reported less than $1,000 in the bank. Baumgardner in January listed more than $13,000 in the bank. “I think one of the things I do and will continue to do is to be really strategic about budgeting and how we are planning to spend money. We’re really looking to utilize a lot of local radio and newspapers… and we have a lot of volunteers,” Tracy said. “I’ll also be working really hard to raise a significant amount of money to support a full-fledged campaign in the district.” — Ramsey@coloradostatesman.com

It’s early in the weekend, storm clouds are moving down from the mountains on chilled air, and hundreds of Democrats gathered in Loveland are lining up support for presidential primary candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders ahead of the state party convention, which is scheduled to be held here tomorrow.

Attendees are assembling first by state legislative districts and later congressional districts to choose delegates to the party’s national convention in Philadelphia at the end of July.

It’s all happening in a field by Highway 25, at The Ranch Events Complex, a cluster of buildings more frequently host to rodeos, dances and dog shows.

Here’s the party’s list of national delegate candidates. Here’s the state party platform. Here’s the platform minority report.

— john@coloradostatesman.com