The Democrats want to put forward a controversial candidate in the Republican primaries for a seat in the House of Representatives should be cleared by Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert (Colo.) in hopes of overturning the law in November.
A Super PAC close to the Democrats and Campaign of Democratic candidate Adam Frisch have aired ads in the Republican primary for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District either touting hardline Republican candidate Ron Hanks as “too conservative” and linking him to former President Trump, or targeting establishment-backed Jeff Hurd.
The measures come as Democrats view Hanks, an election refuser, as the weaker of the candidates in November and their best chance to win a red seat.
“It’s no surprise that the Democrats are so keen to have Ron Hanks as their candidate because he would be a sure loser against Adam Frisch. I have no doubt about it,” said former state Republican chairman Dick Wadhams.
Hurd, Hanks and Colorado State Board of Education member Stephen Varela are considered the leading candidates among a handful of contenders vying for the Republican nomination in the western Colorado congressional district. They are running for the seat because Boebert has decided to run in a different district this election cycle.
Rocky Mountain Values PAC, a liberal group, founded Broadcast of commercials in the last month It uses clips of Hanks talking about his stance on immigration. At one point, the narrator in the ad says, “Ron Hanks and Donald Trump are just too conservative.” The ad also notes that both candidates are endorsed by the Colorado Republican Party.
Frisch’s recent campaign aired an ad about HurdHe claimed the candidate was “hiding,” “avoiding Republican debates” and refusing to voice his stance on various issues, including abortion, the Second Amendment and who he voted for in recent election cycles.
The strategy appears to be to boost Hanks in the primaries and make him appear the more attractive conservative candidate while hurting Hurd’s chances. Democrats hope Hanks’ controversial stance on issues such as the 2020 election, which he says was rigged, will turn off moderate Republicans and unaffiliated voters in November.
This prompted the Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF), a Super PAC linked to the Republican leadership in the House of Representatives, broadcast a last-minute advertisement on his own initiative to beat Hanks.
“Why do liberals support Ron Hanks? They know they can count on him,” says the narrator of the 30-second ad, referring to the Democratic-aligned super PAC ads. The ad claims Hanks has an “anti-gun agenda” and “has abandoned Trump.”
This is an approach Democrats have used in the past, both in Colorado and elsewhere in the country. Democrats tried to push Hanks to the forefront in Colorado’s 2022 Republican Senate primary, when he ran against mainstream candidate Joe O’Dea.
O’Dea ultimately won the Republican primary, but later lost in the general election to Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.). However, Hanks notably won the 3rd Congressional District during the primary.
Zack Roday, a partner at Ascent who managed O’Dea’s Senate campaign, said the tactic forced the company to change its advertising in the home stretch of the Republican primary.
“This is the only game for CLF and others,” Roday said.
“With Joe O’Dea in 2022, we increased our spending and unfortunately had to choose a contrast with Ron Hanks instead of a complete contrast with Michael Bennet in the final days of the June primaries,” he added.
Republicans argue that it is hypocritical for the Democratic Party to portray itself as “pro-Democratic” while supporting someone who contests the outcome of the 2020 election and attended Trump’s rally in Washington, DC, on the day of the Capitol riots.
Still, some GOP members disagree on whether their seats could be at risk in November.
“I think it’s a really dirty tactic,” said Jon Kelly, chairman of the Pitkin County Republicans. “I think it really undermines all the claims that Democrats make … when Democrats claim that certain candidates are extreme.”
Pueblo County Republican Chairwoman Michelle Gray, who like other county Republican chairs is staying neutral in the primaries, expressed concern that Democratic involvement in the Republican primary could damage Republicans’ chances of retaining their seat in November.
“If a voter here in Pueblo had a particular candidate in mind and then changes their mind because of the Democratic flyers that come out, I actually think that can affect the outcome of the race,” she said.
Both the Super PAC and Frisch’s campaign team defended interference in the Republican primaries.
Amber Miller, a spokeswoman for the Rocky Mountain Values PAC, said the super PAC has stepped in this election cycle to set the record straight regarding Republican decisions in the district.
Rocky Mountain Values PAC “is run by Coloradans who are very focused on defeating Colorado’s extreme Republicans, right, and making sure voters in [the 3rd Congressional District] “We need to know the truth about who the two leading Republican candidates are for this vacant congressional seat,” she said.
She pointed out that it was vital for her to make known the candidates’ stance on certain issues or when they refused to comment.
Frisch’s campaign team, meanwhile, said its involvement in the Republican primaries was a way to counteract the attacks on Frisch by both candidates.
“There are two Republican candidates who can win the primary,” Frisch’s campaign manager Camilo Vilaseca said in a statement. “Ron Hanks is supported by the Republican Party and is too extreme. Jeff Hurd is funded by out-of-state companies, but he continues to hide what he believes. I’m tired of watching Adam get attacked by both of them. For me, the general election has begun.”
Vilaseca said the ads show why both GOP candidates are “the wrong choice” for Colorado’s 3rd District.
“Regardless of Tuesday’s outcome, it is critical for CD-3 voters to know who they are voting for,” she added.
The congressional district, which includes the Western Slope and nearly half of the state, has voted Republican in recent years. Before that, it fluctuated between Democrats and Republicans. Trump won the district by 8 points in 2020.
Although the seat is advantageous for Republicans, the party cannot take it for granted. The nonpartisan election expert Cook Political Report rates the seat as “Republican-leaning.”
Asked about the allegations in the Super PAC’s complaint regarding his participation in debates and his evasive maneuvers on issues, Hurd argued that “the fact that [Democrats are] The fact that they are running in the primaries and repeating some of the same arguments that other Republicans are making in the primaries just shows that they are nervous about me running in the general election.”
“I’m the one who had the political courage to enter the race when the odds seemed slim,” he added. “And that’s why I don’t really believe other contestants telling me which events I should and shouldn’t attend, because there are dozens and dozens of events I attended long before they entered the race.”
Valera, a member of the Colorado State Board of Education, also criticized Democratic interference, saying he left the Democratic Party before becoming a Republican because of “a lot of these kinds of dirty tactics and dirty politics.”
Hanks stated that he had no problem with Rocky Mountain Values airing ads in his name.
“I’m glad they’re not lying about me. Now the Republicans are lying about me. Isn’t that an ironic twist?” Hanks said, referring to the CLF ad.
Hanks dismissed Republican concerns about his candidacy, confirming that he attended the rally in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021, and does not believe President Biden won the last election.
Because there is little public polling on this race, it is unclear how much the ads will influence the candidates. Some Republicans, like Dolores County Republican Chairman John Funk, say they have no problem with the law because it is protected by the First Amendment.
However, Funk fears that voters may not be savvy enough to understand the ads.
“The concern is that we have an electorate that doesn’t know the facts,” Funk said.
