GOP Senate Candidates Are Loyal to Trump Before Colorado
Coloradans voted out former Republican Senator Cory Gardner in 2020 because he betrayed Coloradans to be Trump’s yes-man. GOP Senate candidates Ron Hanks and Joe O’Dea would follow in Gardner’s footsteps and put Trump ahead of working Coloradans.
Despite growing evidence of Trump trying to overturn the 2020 election results and inciting an insurrection, Hanks, an insurrectionist, and O’Dea both agreed that “Trump does not deserve blame — even in part — for the events that unfolded on Jan. 6.” The candidates went even further and committed to supporting Trump if he ran for president in 2024.
“Coloradans ousted Cory Gardner because he sucked up to Trump and betrayed working families – and they will do the same to Republican Senate candidates Ron Hanks and Joe O’Dea. Colorado can’t afford another Senator who will sell them out for a far-right MAGA agenda.” – Colorado Democratic Party spokesperson Nico Delgado.
GOP Senate Candidates are Anti-Choice and Wrong for Colorado
The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe confirms what a majority of Coloradans already know – if elected, Republicans will stop at nothing to take away a woman’s right to choose. Both candidates have made it clear that they are more focused on restricting abortion access than helping working families get ahead.
“Ron Hanks and Joe O’Dea are enemies of abortion rights – and their anti-choice views go against the majority of Coloradans and disqualifies them from serving in the U.S. Senate.” – Colorado Democratic Party spokesperson Nico Delgado
Candidates on abortion:
Ron Hanks:
Sponsored an extreme bill to abolish all abortion access in Colorado.
Opposes all abortions including in cases of rape, incest, and when a mother’s life is at risk.
Labeled himself as a “defende[r] of the unborn” in his campaign launch video.
Joe O’Dea:
Opposes Colorado’s law that guarantees the right to choose.
Would’ve voted to confirm all of the Supreme Court Justices nominated by Trump and Bush.
GOP Senate Candidates Want to Gut Social Security, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act
Candidates promise to eliminate or cut critical government agencies
Critical government programs and agencies would be in danger if GOP Senate candidates Ron Hanks and Joe O’Dea had their way. According to the Colorado Times Recorder, GOP Senate candidate Joe O’Dea affirmed that he stands with the Republican Party’s far right agenda and would join them in gutting Social Security and Medicare.
In April, leading GOP Senate candidate and insurrectionist Ron Hanks said that he would vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) which could strip health care coverage from more than 500,000 Coloradans.
The far right candidates have also pledged to cut back or completely eliminate government agencies like the Department of Education, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
“Coloradans, especially those who rely on Social Security, Medicare, and the ACA, now know that right wing candidates won’t hesitate to sever critical lifelines. Both Hanks and O’Dea have proven that they would be a rubber stamp for their party’s far right agenda which will spike costs for seniors and working families.” – Colorado Democratic Party spokesperson Nico Delgado
GOP Senate Candidates Too Far Right on Guns
GOP Senate candidates Ron Hanks and Joe O’Dea are both too far right on guns and they offer no promise of supporting gun safety legislation to help prevent future tragedies caused by gun violence.
Both candidates said that they would oppose the bipartisan Senate framework on new gun regulations which enhance background checks and allow states to enact red flag laws.
“Colorado’s last spineless Republican senator was a puppet for the NRA and a rubber stamp for the far-right Republican agenda. Coloradans will reject any Republican who will take millions from the gun lobby and oppose common sense background checks.” – Colorado Democratic Party spokesperson Nico Delgado
Candidates on the Second Amendment:
Ron Hanks
Claimed that he defended the Second Amendment and blew up a copy machine with a semi-automatic rifle in a campaign launch video.
Sponsored bills to repeal a ban on magazines and allow anyone 21 and older to carry a firearm without a permit.
Endorsed by the Gun Owners of America
Joe O’Dea
Said that “we don’t need more [gun control] laws.”
Opposed the bipartisan gun safety law that passed the Senate with 15 Republican votes.
Said he’s an “advocate” for the Second Amendment and used crime as a reason why people should practice their Second Amendment right.
Backed by the NRA’s Colorado affiliate group.
Coloradans Rejected the Last Republican Senator Who Took Millions from the NRA – They Will Do the Same to Hanks or O’Dea
Ron Hanks and Joe O’Dea only offer condolences and no promise for gun safety laws including background checks
Colorado’s former one-term Republican Senator Cory Gardner put the gun lobby ahead of Colorado and accepted nearly $4 million from the National Rifle Association (NRA). Gardner was far to the right of Coloradans because he opposed common sense background checks and he voted against a bipartisan bill to prevent terrorists from buying guns – and Hanks and O’Dea have shown they will do the same.
“Colorado’s last spineless Republican senator was a puppet for the NRA and a rubber stamp for the far-right Republican agenda. In the face of a horrific school shooting, Hanks and O’Dea only offer condolences and prayers. Coloradans will reject any Republican who will take millions from the gun lobby and oppose common sense background checks.” – Colorado Democratic Party spokesperson Nico Delgado
In the aftermath of the horrific school shooting in Uvalde, GOP Senate candidates Ron Hanks and Joe O’Dea only offered prayers and condolences – and no promise of supporting gun safety legislation to help prevent future tragedies caused by gun violence.
Candidates on the Second Amendment:
Ron Hanks
Claimed that he defended the Second Amendment and blew up a copy machine with a semi-automatic rifle in a campaign launch video.
Sponsored bills to repeal a ban on magazines and allow anyone to carry a firearm without a permit.
Joe O’Dea
Said that “we don’t need more gun control laws.”
Said he’s an “advocate for the Second Amendment” and used crime as a reason why people should practice their Second Amendment right.
Frontrunner Ron Hanks Slams Joe O’Dea in Nasty Primary Ahead of Republican Rumble Debate
The GOP Senate primary has soured ahead of tomorrow’s GOP Senate debate as grassroots leading candidate and election denier Ron Hanks blasts Joe O’Dea over abortion, donations to Democrats, Russian jets, and infrastructure.
Yesterday, Hanks claimed he was the “only pro-life candidate on the ticket now” and attacked O’Dea in a press release. Hanks went further and dragged O’Dea for cozying up to elitist politicians while hiding from the conservative base.
Hanks criticized O’Dea for his “anti-Republican donations” to Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper.
Hanks mocked O’Dea for including Russian military aircraft in a TV ad and blasted him for his support of the bipartisan infrastructure law. Hanks said O’Dea’s “support for President Biden's unthinkable multi-trillion dollar omnibus bill, well, that's an ugly bird that's gonna come crashing down.”
It’s clear that GOP candidates will be coming into the debates focused on tearing each other down and they will offer nothing but a far-right agenda that is too out of touch for Colorado. Whoever emerges from the nasty primary will be weakened and go on to lose to Michael Bennet in November.
Former Governor and Board Chairman of Russian Bank Gets Involved with O’Dea Campaign
Joe O’Dea continues to showcase a flawed campaign as he accepts the endorsement from Bill Owens, a Republican establishment politician who’s been long involved with Russia. The endorsement highlights O’Dea’s grave mistake of including images of Russian fighter jets when talking about supporting the U.S. military in one of his first TV ads.
The former Governor was the Chairman of the supervisory board for the Credit Bank of Moscow, one of Russia’s largest banks, and resigned after Russia invaded Ukraine. Owens had been involved with the bank since 2012 and it was subject to debt and equity restrictions when President Biden imposed sanctions on Russia. According to his bio listed in GreenbergTraurig, Owens “has been actively involved in the Soviet Union and Russia since the 1980s.”
After weeks of having to apologize for including Russian jets in a TV ad, O’Dea is shrugging it off and touting the endorsement of a politician with undeniable connections to Russia.
GOP Senate Candidates on Abortion
The Supreme Court’s leaked draft majority opinion on overturning Roe confirms what a majority of Coloradans already know – if elected, Republicans will stop at nothing to strip away reproductive rights including abortion.
GOP Senate candidates on abortion:
Ron Hanks:
Sponsored an extreme bill to abolish all abortion access in Colorado.
Labeled himself as a “defende[r] of the unborn” in his campaign launch video.
Joe O’Dea:
Opposes Colorado’s law that guarantees the right to an abortion.
“Ron Hanks and Joe O’Dea are enemies of abortion rights and their extreme views go against the majority of Coloradans. Their embrace of anti choice views disqualify them from serving in the U.S. Senate.”
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GOP Primary Goes Negative as Ron Hanks Blasts Joe O’Dea
The Republican primary in Colorado turned negative this week after election denier and leading GOP Senate candidate mocked first-time GOP candidate Joe O’Dea for not being able to tell the difference between American and Russian military aircraft. Hanks also blasted O’Dea for his support of the bipartisan infrastructure law and said “his support for President Biden's unthinkable multi-trillion dollar omnibus bill, well, that's an ugly bird that's gonna come crashing down.”
Hanks' attack echoes criticism O’Dea has received from other Republicans. Former GOP Senate candidate Gino Campana traded barbs with O’Dea and said “Colorado Republicans don’t want someone who worked against Ken Buck… they want a solid conservative.”
Colorado Politics reported on what’s to be the beginning of a nasty and divisive primary. Read excerpts below:
Colorado Republican Joe O'Dea launched a new TV ad this weekend in his bid to challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet.
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The initial version of the ad, released online, however, included a split-second clip of Russian military jets soaring among the clouds as the ad's narrator says O'Dea is running to "support the police and military."
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A spokesman for the Colorado Democratic Party mocked the O'Dea team's mistake as emblematic of the Republican's difficulties connecting with voters.
“Joe O’Dea’s introduction to Coloradans in his primary campaign was promoting the Russian Air Force and opposing a woman’s right to choose," Nico Delgado told Colorado Politics. "Say what you will about Ron Hanks’ embrace of Trump’s election conspiracies, at least he knows what United States Air Force aircraft looks like.”
O'Dea is running in Colorado's June primary against state Rep. Ron Hanks, R-Cañon City, a retired military intelligence officer who spent 32 years in the Air Force. Bennet, who is running for a third full term, is unopposed for his party's nomination.
Hanks told Colorado Politics he is willing to cut his primary opponent some slack before unloading on O'Dea's support for the $1.2 trillion infrastructure legislation.
"Every rookie politician makes mistakes like that so I'm not gonna be hard on O'Dea because his hired campaign team doesn't know the difference between Russian Fulcrums and Flankers and American Hornets and Raptors. But his support for President Biden's unthinkable multi-trillion dollar omnibus bill, well, that's an ugly bird that's gonna come crashing down onto Colorado families at any time and voters need to know that," Hanks said in a text message.
O’Dea Stumbles in Desperate Attempt to Catch Up to Leading Far-right Candidate Ron Hanks
Roll Call: GOP Senate candidate touts military support with image of Russian jets
Colorado Times Recorder: Senate Candidate O’Dea Opposes CO Law Protecting the Right to an Abortion
First-time GOP Senate candidate Joe O’Dea is stumbling through the primary trying to keep up with far-right frontrunner Ron Hanks.
O’Dea’s incompetence was on full display when he tried to compare his support of the military with Air Force veteran Ron Hanks. However, Roll Call reported that his TV ad used what military experts confirmed to be Russian jets. O’Dea’s managed to insult Colorado veterans and military families in one fell swoop.
O’Dea stumbled again at a campaign meet and greet where he confirmed that he opposes a recent Colorado law that protects a woman’s right to an abortion. O’Dea’s opposition to protecting women’s healthcare, including the right to an abortion, is more evidence that this primary will be a race to the right that leaves the eventual nominee battered and out of step with Colorado voters.
Read excerpts below:
Roll Call: GOP Senate candidate touts military support with image of Russian jets
Colorado Republican Senate candidate Joe O’Dea promises to “support the police and military,” in a television ad that featured footage of a half-dozen planes flying in formation against a backdrop of fluffy, white clouds.
Only, those weren’t American planes. Three experts on military aviation, after viewing the ad, concluded independently that the aircraft used in the ad by a Republican vying to challenge Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet are a mix of Russian-made Sukhoi fighter jets — possibly flying in a Russian military parade.
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“Claiming to support our troops over footage of Russian fighter jets is a slap in the face to Colorado veterans, service members, and military families — not to mention the height of political negligence,” Yoo said.
Read more in Roll Call.
Colorado Times Recorder: Senate Candidate O’Dea Opposes CO Law Protecting the Right to an Abortion
Appearing at a campaign stop at the Copper Rail Bar and Grill in Brighton on Wednesday, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Joe O’Dea, who will be competing against election conspiracist and insurrectionist Rep. Ron Hanks (R-Cañon City) in the June 28 primary, denounced Colorado’s newly passed law that guarantees the right to an abortion in state statute.
“Well, actually, if [Roe v. Wade] gets overturned, it’s going to push it to the states,” said O’Dea in response to a question about what kind of legislation he would support around abortion. “And this bill [Reproductive Health Equity Act] that just came through at our gold dome, that Polis signed a couple of weeks ago, to me, it’s reckless, it approves third-term abortions, and I’m not in favor of that. So it’s going to be a local-level issue.”
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“Joe O’Dea’s opposition to the Reproductive Health Equity Act means he does not agree with the vast majority of Coloradans on abortion access and reproductive rights, at a time when the Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade and take those rights away. O’Dea’s opposition to RHEA and abortion rights are disqualifying for anyone running for elected office in Colorado.”
Read more in the Colorado Times Recorder.
GOP Senate Candidate Ron Hanks Brags He Would Repeal ACA
“More than 500,000 Coloradans have gained access to health care coverage through Medicaid expansion”
In new audio reported by the Colorado Times Recorder, leading GOP Senate candidate and insurrectionist Ron Hanks said that he would vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) which could strip health care coverage from more than 500,000 Coloradans.
Hanks is wooing extreme conservatives by pledging to get rid of the ACA and Joe O’ Dea will have to answer for the Republican agenda.
“Coloradans, especially those who rely on the Affordable Care Act, are seeing how right wing extremist Ron Hanks is bragging about how he would strip away their health care coverage and spike their costs. Now the spotlight turns to O’Dea, who will be forced to defend his party’s agenda of overturning the ACA and making health care less affordable for hardworking Coloradans.” – Colorado Democratic Party spokesperson Nico Delgado
Read more from the Colorado Times Recorder:
U.S. Senate candidate and state Rep. Ron Hanks (R-Cañon City) says he would vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) if he was elected to be Colorado’s next senator.
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Hanks is a QAnon and election-fraud conspiracy theorist. He crossed police barriers while attending the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Last year, as a member of Colorado’s House of Representatives, Hanks made racist comments downplaying the Three/Fifths Compromise.
As of earlier this month, Hanks is one of two Republican nominees on the GOP primary ballot for U.S. Senate hoping to unseat incumbent U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO).
Bennet voted in support of the ACA in 2009, his first year in the U.S. Senate, and has repeatedly defended Obamacare during his time in office. Bennet applauded the U.S. Supreme Court for upholding the ACA in 2021. In 2019, he introduced legislation to expand the program.
Since the implementation of the ACA, Colorado has received approximately $10 billion in federal funds to pay for coverage under Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion provision, according to the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, which administrates the state’s public health care programs.
More than 500,000 Coloradans have gained access to health care coverage through Medicaid expansion. If the ACA were completely repealed health care experts claim that most of those Coloradans would become uninsured.
GOP Senate Candidates Silent on Republican Tax Plan
As Coloradans are filing on Tax Day and many are seeing new benefits from tax credits provided by the American Rescue Plan, they should be aware that next year’s Tax Day could be different if Republicans take the majority and enact their unpopular agenda.
“Ron Hanks and Joe O’Dea would act as a rubber stamp for the Republican Party’s agenda to raise taxes and end Medicare and Social Security as we know it. Colorado can’t afford Ron Hanks, Joe O’Dea, or the Republican Party’s disastrous agenda.” – Colorado Democratic Party Spokesperson Nico Delgado
NRSC Chair Rick Scott came to Colorado last week to double down on the Republican agenda that would raise taxes on lower income Americans and seniors and sunset Social Security and Medicare. There are an estimated 939,000 Coloradans who depend on Medicare, 916,000 who depend on Social Security, and 26% of Coloradans who would see a tax increase under this plan.
The agenda that was meant to rally Republican candidates has proven to be an electoral liability. According to the Washington Post, GOP Senators are furious with Rick Scott and “they chastised him in round-robin fashion for the unnecessary headache he had created.”
NRSC Chair Rick Scott Says Ron Hanks is a “Very Good Candidate,” Doubles Down on Agenda to Raise Taxes
NRSC will not endorse in Colorado’s Republican Senate primary
NRSC Chair Rick Scott stopped by Colorado the week after the chaotic GOP state assembly to say that election denier and frontrunner Ron Hanks is a “very good candidate.” He added the NRSC will not be endorsing during the Republican Senate primary.
Rick Scott: “The NRSC is not going to endorse. No we're not going to endorse. We've got two very good candidates.”
When asked about the Republican plan that’s currently fracturing Republicans nationally and could hurt GOP candidates in states like Colorado, Scott doubled down on the Republican agenda that would raise taxes on seniors and lower income Americans, and sunset Medicare and Social Security. Hanks and O’Dea would be rubber stamps for a Republican plan that would devastate seniors and working families.
Matt Mauro, Fox 31: “You and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have clashed recently. Particularly about an agenda you release that includes tax hikes for some Americans. Are you at all concerned that the fracturing that some say is happening in the nationwide GOP could hurt Republican Senate candidates, especially in a swing state like Colorado?”
Rick Scott: “...I want to make sure we have an agenda going forward. And that we're united.”
The NRSC refusing to endorse comes as the Colorado Times Recorder pointed out O’Dea’s extensive history of donating to Democrats, including Michael Bennet, and writing op-eds to thank Democrats for their accomplishments.
“I’m not talking to Democrats,” O’Dea said when approached for an interview. The Colorado Times Recorder is a nonpartisan news outlet whose coverage reflects a progressive perspective, as explained on our website.
But O’Dea, who owns a construction company and an event center in Denver, has let his money talk to Democrats.
He’s supported candidates from the Democratic Party since 2010, according to reports from Colorado’s Secretary of State TRACER database.
Since 2009, O’Dea has made monetary campaign donations to 13 candidates for public office in Colorado. Five of those 13 were Democrats, including then-Gov. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) in his 2014 reelection campaign.
O’Dea’s campaign donations for these 13 candidates total just over $4,000.
O’Dea has talked to Democrats via the news media as well.
In 2008, O’Dea authored two op-eds, one in the Boulder-based Daily Camera and one in the Colorado Springs-based The Gazette, thanking then-Gov. Bill Ritter (D-CO) for extending funding for a state panel tasked with educating Coloradans on public transportation funding. At the time, O’Dea was on an advisory committee for the panel.
During a February senate candidate forum, O’Dea said that those who committed violence during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol should face legal consequences, but that violence during the summer 2020 racial justice protests should be punished as well. Hanks attended the insurrection and has admitted to crossing police barriers.
Majority of GOP Grassroots Voters Back Insurrectionist Ron Hanks
Hanks takes top spot on Republican primary ballot for Senate
Insurrectionist and U.S. Senate candidate Ron Hanks cleared a field of several well funded candidates and won with 38.96% of the delegate vote. Election denial was at the center of the Colorado GOP’s chaotic state assembly where Hanks, along with other election conspiracy theory candidates, rode that wave to victory.
Hanks and wealthy CEO Joe O’Dea, who petitioned on to the ballot via signatures, will be the only two Republican candidates for Senate. The primary will take place on June 28th.
Watch CBS Denver’s reporting on the GOP state assembly below:
Read more in the Associated Press, Vice News, Denver Post, Colorado Sun, Colorado Politics, Colorado Newsline, CPR News, Axios Denver, CBS Denver, KRDO Colorado Springs
What They’re Saying:
Jesse Paul, Colorado Sun: “The thread that carried across the 2022 Colorado Republican state assembly was election denialism, from calls to abandon electronic voting for delegates, to the candidates selected and the party platform that was adopted. #copolitics”
Nick Riccardi, AP: “Skepticism about the election/’election integrity’ has been the biggest applause line for just about everyone at the CO GOP Assembly”
Quentin Young, Colorado Newsline: “Now there is no doubt. The election-denial faction of the Colorado Republican Party has the most momentum. Conspiracist candidates are in the lead. Moderating forces in the party establishment have lost control of the narrative. What does this mean for the state?”
Trish Zornio, Colorado Sun Columnist: The @cologop is in complete shambles. Their “best” candidates for Secretary of State, U.S. Senate and Gov are extreme conspiracy theorists who deny 2020 election results. It’s embarrassing, and bad for democracy.
Heidi Beedle, Colorado Times Recorder: “I’m not at all surprised that Ron Hanks won. This has largely been a one-issue primary for the Republicans. Ron Hanks has been leading the charge on that in Colorado. The fact that it is overwhelmingly nonsense from grifters and bad actors shouldn’t be concerning, right?”
Sara Loflin, Progress Now Colorado: “‘Colorado Republicans are once again indisputably the party of Donald Trump, Ron Hanks, and Tina Peters. Hanks and Peters can no longer be dismissed as ‘fringe’ when they represent the views of a majority of Republicans’”
MORE: Read what Coloradans are saying about Hanks in letters to the editor in Mountain Jackpot, CS Indy, Longmont Times Call, and the Greeley Tribune.