Sierra Club drops big bucks late into Colorado races
With Election Day just days away, the Sierra Club says it is putting money and effort into the Colorado governor’s race and state Senate races that could tip the statehouse’s balance of power to the left.
The environmental group’s political arm said Tuesday it’s dropping a “major 6-figure general election campaign” that will include mailers, digital ads, phone banks and canvassing for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jared Polis.
The San Francisco-based club also said it would put $65,000 behind state Rep. Faith Winter’s bid to unseat Republican Sen. Beth Martinez-Humenik in Senate District 24.
The GOP has only a one-seat majority in the 35-member state Senate, while Democrats have a 36-29 majority in the House.
The Sierra Club said Tuesday that it trust Democrats – and Winter, namely – to “act now on climate so that Colorado’s future won’t melt away.” The organization lauded Winter’s votes in the House and criticized her Republican opponent.
“Faith has been a bold, thoughtful leader for protecting Colorado’s environment and creating jobs her entire career,” Jim Alexee, director of the Colorado Sierra Club, said in a statement.
The organization’s small donor committee already has put $4,850 behind Democratic state Rep. Jessie Danielson’s run for the open Senate District 20 against GOP newcomer Christine Jensen. That race, too, is seen as a pivotal seat to flip or preserve the upper chamber’s majority.
The Sierra Club also will spend money for Polis, citing his goal of moving the state toward 100 percent renewable energy by 2040, as well as his work in Congress on conservation and green energy efforts.
His Republican opponent, Walker Stapleton, is aligned with President Donald Trump, the Sierra Club stated.
“Polis will be a governor who stands with the people of Colorado and their public lands, while Walker Stapleton would stand with the polluters and their allies by putting our public lands at risk,” Alexee said.
The Republican National Committee linked such environmentalists backing Polis to Proposition 112 to require 2,500-foot buffers for oil-and-gas operations for homes, schools and businesses.
“For a politician who claims he opposes economically catastrophic setbacks, Jared Polis sure seems to be getting a lot of support from fracktivists hellbent on destroying the lives of working class Coloradans,” Colorado’s RNC spokesperson Kyle Kohli? said in a statement. “Bernie Sanders and the Sierra Club’s Polis endorsements show they know Polis will be an ally in their quest to ban fracking and wreck Colorado’s economy.”


