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.
