Like many of the political races this year, the race for the Senate District 12 Republican primary has not been a cakewalk for either contender. In a race that is nearly deadlocked, current House District 15 Rep. Gordon Klingenschmitt and Robert “Bob” Gardner, a former state representative, are locked in an intensive struggle for the eastern Colorado Springs senate district.

With Senate President Bill Cadman facing term-limits this year, Klingenschmitt landed top line on the ballot by acclamation vote at the Senate District 12 Assembly in March. Klingenschmitt’s overwhelming win occurred in part due to Gardner’s decision to turn down a party nomination for the seat at assembly. Gardner had received certification from the secretary of state one day earlier that he had collected enough signatures from voters to successfully petition onto the June primary ballot, contributing to his decision to bow out of the party nomination process.

Meet “Dr. Chaps”

Klingenschmitt won his first election to the Colorado House of Representatives in the 2014 midterm cycle against Democratic challenger Lois Fornander. Klingenschmitt had won the 2014 primary against Dave Williams, who is running unopposed in House District 15 after ousting challenger Josh Hosler at the district’s assembly. Since his first day as a representative in January 2015, Klingenschmitt says he has prided himself as being an advocate for his constituents.

“I love the people of my district, I love the people of Colorado and I love America,” Klingenschmitt said in a 2014 article from The Colorado Springs Gazette. “I will defend everybody’s First Amendment rights, and I have a track record of doing that.”

Klingenschmitt, who has a PhD in Theology from Regent University in Virginia and is a Pentecostal minister, graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 1991. Klingenschmitt, is also known as “Dr. Chaps, a nickname he acquired as a military chaplain in the United States Navy. In 2006, he was the center of a military court-martial where he was accused of protesting in front of the White House while wearing his military uniform, according to The Washington Post. He was found guilty, reprimanded and his pay was docked. Even with those legal troubles, he was honorably discharged.

Klingenschmitt founded the “Pray in Jesus Name Ministries,” a nonprofit that he claims has has raised thousands for outreach and religious mission projects. Klingenschmitt also hosts a television show bearing the same name on the National Religious Broadcasters network. He has also come under fire for his dealings with his nonprofit and for-profit ventures, which has been documented by the organization Colorado Government Watch.

The Return of Bob Gardner

Gardner, also an Air Force Academy graduate, attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the USAF working as a ICBM Missile Launch Officer. He retired in 1989, going on to serve in the reserves for another 9 years. He now practices law in Colorado Springs, specializing in “government contracts, business and commercial law, government affairs and relations, campaign and election law, and administrative and regulatory law.”

Gardner served as a state representative for 8 years, first in House District 21 and later House District 20, due to gerrymandering. His four consecutive terms in the House of Representatives ended in 2014, when he reached his term-limits. State Rep. Terri Carver went on to replace him.

Gardner received his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law in 1981 and has a graduate degree in law from George Washington University.

Who is the real “conservative”?

The battle for SD 12, has been commonly viewed as one of the most contested primary skirmishes this cycle. Part of that characterization has been generated by Klingenschmitt, who has been a regular media lightning rod since his first days in elected office. From a recent appearance on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show where he changed personas – and outfits – on camera to make a point against transgendered people, to being a recurring topic of discussion within the pages of Westword and left-leaning blogs, Klingenschmitt has made his mark on this year’s primary season. By comparison, Gardner has been more scant in media coverage.

Regardless, the candidates have made their ideologies known: Klingenschmitt is the “radical” conservative while Gardner is viewed as being the more “moderate” of the two. This instance exists even when the two candidates have similar platforms and both are selling themselves with the generic nomenclature of “conservative.”

“I’m not predicting, but I feel confident because my grassroots volunteers are personally motivated to beat the establishment liberals,” Klingenschmitt told The Statesman in an email, “I consistently voted for individual liberty, personal responsibility, property rights, free markets, limited government, fiscal responsibility and equal protection/rule of law.”

Klingenschmitt, in the email, also attacked his opponent claiming that he is the “establishment” candidate in the race, citing numerous votes that Gardner supported during his time in the House of Representatives. One of the more notable votes that Klingenschmitt has been bringing up throughout this campaign was Gardner’s vote and sponsorship for HB13-1266 – a bill that aligned Colorado law with the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.

Gardner defends the vote as the only real solution to make sure Colorado had a say in how the Affordable Care Act – the law of the land – was implemented. Despite his “yes” vote for the bill, Gardner remains firm that he, “steadfastly opposes Obamacare and its crippling effect on health-care consumers and employers.” He pushed this sentiment in a video his campaign posted to YouTube in September 2015.

Gardner has also made it clear that he was wants to run an entirely positive campaign against Klingenschmitt, who is also publishing campaign videos that are challenging Gardner’s platforms and claims.

“We are not running a campaign against my opponent, but rather a positive and focused campaign about why I am the best candidate to represent SD 12,” Gardner said in an email to The Statesman. “We are telling voters about my record, the challenges facing our State and community, and our proposals for addressing those challenges.”

Both candidates, also, are running on similar platforms with the recurring Republican themes of “pro-life,” “pro-taxpayer,” and, “pro-second amendment” to name a few. The candidate’s “Issues” pages on their websites also contain resemblant language in regards to a smattering of today’s top tier political issues.

Burning money

Gardner is winning the fundraising battle, at least so far. According to the most recent campaign disclosure reports, Gardner has out-raised Klingenschmitt by more than $10,000. Year-to-date contributions for Gardner total $75,224.80. Klingenschmitt trails at $62,806.82.

But Gardner has also reported the highest campaign expenditures in the race with his most recent filings indicating $61,143.65 in expended funds. Klingenschmitt has spent just slightly more than half that at $34,958.62.

Gardner’s campaign spending suggests that he has focused heavily on voter outreach and marketing strategy. According to the May 31 expenditure report, more than $4,000 was invested for billboard advertising. Other reports indicate large dollar payouts to numerous consulting and direct mail firms, such as Madwoman Marketing Solutions in Manitou Springs, Colorado. Madwoman has received $45,717.22 from Gardner’s campaign since June 2015. Madwoman, headed by Karole Campbell, declined a request for comment by The Statesman, but publicly available reports show she has provided the campaign a plethora of services including social media marketing, media consulting, web design and other services.

Klingenschmitt has spent between $8,000 and $10,000 on outreach via printing services, self-financed social media ad buys, and Google ad-words. His campaign also imported out-of-state consulting services from a Washington D.C. and San Antonio, Texas based firm, The Political Group. Klingenschmitt reported that  the firm provided $4,908.77 in phone call services to his campaign

Independent expenditure groups have also taken a notable interest in the SD 12 race. Based on disclosure reports, a group named Assuring Quality Healthcare Access for Colorado spent $42,084.80 to print and distribute a door-to-door campaign flyer in support of Gardner.

Other independent expenditures for Gardner have come from former a former US. congressman, U.S. Rep. Bob Beauprez’s. Colorado Pioneer Action, an organization of which Beauprez is the chairman, sponsored mailers attacking Klingenschmitt’s record before the Republican SD 12 assembly and has created a website “thanking” Gardner for his work for Coloradans. Numerous other groups have entered the race with independent expenditures in favor of the Gardner camp. Currently, there are no known independent expenditure efforts in support of Klingenschmitt.

No matter the outcome of the SD 12 primary race, the candidates remain neck and neck in a primary race that will likely remain too close to call through election day.