Jason Says Vote, Colorado!

Let me just start by saying that this one is very personal to me. Having campaigned for candidates up and down the ballot in Colorado in 2010, I have a special place in my heart for The Centennial State.

Candidates: 

• Senator Mark Udall (D): first elected to the U.S. Senate - 2008. Prior to that he was a Member of the Colorado State House (1996-1998), and a U.S. Representative (1999-2009). Senator's campaign website.
• Congressman Cory Gardner (R): first elected to the U.S. House - 2010. Prior to that he was a staffer for U.S. Senator Wayne Allard from Colorado (2002-2005), a Member of the Colorado State House (2005-2010), and U.S. Representative (2011-present). Senate campaign site.

Jason's Bottom Line:

• This election comes down to whether or not the people of Colorado are going to be fooled by pretty new wrapping paper on Representative Cory Gardner, a far-right fringe candidate. 
• Mark Udall is Colorado. He believes in strengthening the middle class, making college more affordable, protecting our rights, and encouraging responsible solutions to everything from balancing the budget to saving the environment. 
• Gardner, on the other hand, is a "Hard-Core Conservative" who has an 85% approval rating from the Tea Party; voted to privatize Medicare, raise the eligibility age, and gut federal Medicaid safeguards; and voted to shut down the government - while Colorado families suffered from devastating floods - cutting off valuable (and direly needed) disaster relief. 

Jason Says Vote: Introduction

I'm hoping that this will encourage those in my generation to vote in the November 4, 2014 election. 

This is going to be a very important election year - and control of the US Senate hangs in the balance. As such, I will look at important issues to our generation and where the major US Senate candidates stand. I'm not going to do every state, but I'm going to focus on those where youth turn-out WILL determine the election. Just because your state isn't listed, doesn't mean that there aren't important elections. This year 36 states (and 3 Territories) elect their Governors, every US House Seat is on the ballot, as well as seats in state legislatures, and local elections. Voting is a mandatory for every single one of us if our positions on important issues are going to be taken seriously.

If we sit on the sideline this year - then politicians who are hostile to the things we want and need will take over. We can't be a generation that only votes in the Presidential years, we must be a generation that stands up for our values in every single election. It's the only way that we will ensure that our future is bright.

The issues that I'm going to cover are...

• Access to Affordable Health Care

• Education and Student Debt

• Pay Equity, Workplace Protections, and Expanding the Middle Class

• Reproductive Rights and Women's Health Care

• Marriage Equality

• Bipartisanship and Willingness to Work Across Party Lines