Former U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn, Colorado's top federal prosecutor during the Trump administration, on Friday endorsed construction company owner Joe O'Dea's U.S. Senate campaign.
O'Dea is one of eight Republicans challenging Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, who is seeking a third term this year.
"I’m proud to endorse Joe O’Dea," Dunn said in a statement released by O'Dea's campaign. "Joe’s a rock solid conservative who has earned the trust of leaders in law enforcement and so many respected conservatives all across Colorado. Joe O’Dea’s a man of character — a conservative who will make Republicans proud and take the fight to the Democrats."
Dunn, a former Colorado deputy attorney general and prominent Republican, served as U.S. attorney for the District of Colorado from 2018 until early last year, when he rejoined the influential Denver law firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck. Bennet was among the senators who voted unanimously to confirm Dunn to the federal post in 2018.
O'Dea welcomed Dunn's support in a written statement that also threw some shade at primary rivals.
"To win in November, the Republican Party will need to unite Trump supporters and Republicans with independents and reasonable Democrats," O'Dea said. "I’m honored to have the support of Jason Dunn, a common sense leader who was appointed by Donald Trump as U.S. attorney. Like the Denver police union who also endorses our campaign, Jason Dunn knows federal, state and local governments need to get serious about cracking down on crime."
Added O'Dea: "While some of the other campaigns appear to be packing precinct caucuses on K Street, Jason built his career and his good name here, which comes with the added bonus that he can actually vote for me. I’m honored to have Trump’s U.S. attorney on Team O’Dea."
Bennet challengers Gino Campana, a Fort Collins real estate developer, and Eli Bremer, a 2008 Olympian and former Republican Party official, have been endorsed in recent months by Trump administration alumnae.
Campana's backers include retired Coast Guard Rear Admiral Peter J. Brown, the former White House homeland security and counterterrorism advisor, who accompanied Campana to campaign events this week, and former Interior Secretary and Colorado native David Bernhardt, who worked at Brownstein before joining Trump's cabinet.
On Thursday, Campana announced his campaign had hired former top Trump aide Kellyanne Conway as a senior advisor. Conway managed Trump's 2016 campaign and worked as a senior counselor to the president from 2017 to 2020.
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