This week we鈥檙e looking at the issues and candidates in Colorado鈥檚 7 Congressional districts. Five of the races are competitive, but two were over before they started.
The 1st Congressional District, which covers Denver, hasn鈥檛 voted for a Republican since the 1970s. And the 5th District in Colorado Springs has never sent a Democrat to Congress.
With less than six weeks till Election Day, you鈥檇 be forgiven for not knowing who Republican Danny Stroud is.
鈥淗i, my name is , and I鈥檓 running for Congress.鈥�
Stroud recently spent an afternoon introducing himself to would be voters at Arapahoe Community College. He鈥檚 running against 9-term Democratic incumbent, , for the 1st congressional district seat in Denver.
He鈥檚 well aware of the odds against him.
鈥淪ure, everybody tells me that every day, I hear that 10 times a day.鈥�
Stroud believes that a change is needed in congress. To him DeGette has been a rubber stamp for President Barack Obama and thinks government spending is out of control. He also thinks that must be repealed. The West Point graduate says that鈥檚 worth fighting for.
鈥淚f you don鈥檛 fight, and you don鈥檛 defend then you have no backbone. It鈥檚 about moral courage; it鈥檚 about fighting for what you believe.鈥�
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The problem is registered Democrats outnumber Republicans here 2-1. A Republican hasn鈥檛 held this seat in 40 years and that was for only one term. As of the last campaign finance reports Stroud had less than $400 in cash on hand. That is compared to DeGette鈥檚 $164,000.00.
Those advantages don鈥檛 stop DeGette from campaigning a little. At a Town Hall meeting Monday, DeGette rattled off a list of bills she sponsored that passed; one helps alleviate drug shortages, another gets experimental drugs to patients in need.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 why I鈥檓 happy to say I , and they were all bipartisan accomplishments.鈥�
She has no big TV ad blitzes planned though, nor is she a target for well-financed .
CU Boulder Political Scientist Scott Adler studies congress and says the safe seat affords DeGette some luxuries. Like her laser focus on the relativelyobscure issue of stem cell research.
鈥淪he has been able to pursue this issue, in some ways freed from the constraints that she might otherwise have if she was running for re-election in a more competitive seat.鈥�
And since she doesn鈥檛 need all the campaign money she raises, she鈥檚 formed a PAC, originally called the . She says it allows her to donate to other candidates.
鈥淲ell, if I can help people who agree with my ideas, like supporting stem cell research, elected then that helps me push those ideas through the congress.鈥�
Farther south in Colorado Springs, Republican Congressman Doug Lamborn doesn鈥檛 appear to be campaigning at all right now. This is what you get when you call the campaign headquarters.
鈥淭he mailbox...is full and cannot accept messages at this time...goodbye.鈥�
lists no events through Election Day that's part of what inspired to run as an Independent against Lamborn. He says the three term congressman has been nonexistent in the district since winning a hard fought primary this summer. Anderson says he and the green party candidate, , attended recent energy symposium in Woodland Park.
鈥淥f course congressman Lamborn was invited, and did not.鈥�
Anderson has only about $6,000.00 cash on hand. Lamborn has 5 times that.
Lamborn is a tried and true conservative. He regularly receives the highest ratings for his conservative voting record whether it is for gun rights or cutting federal spending. That鈥檚 probably good enough to win a congressional seat that no Democrat or Independent has ever held.
