Colorado’s Republican primary results, swift and decisive for a trio of more mainstream candidates on Tuesday, left little doubt that business issues will be at the center of general-election debates in suddenly competitive races for governor, secretary of state and U.S. Senate.
Denver construction company owner Joe O’Dea handily defeated election-security-focused state Rep. Ron Hanks, who was in Washington D.C. on Jan. 6 of last year, to win the nomination to run against Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet.
Small-business owner Pam Andersondispatched Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters, who is under indictment for purportedly giving election-conspiracy supporters unauthorized access to voting machines, to win the GOP nomination for secretary of state and run against Democratic incumbent Jenna Griswold.
And Camp Bow Wow founder Heidi Ganahlscored a strong victory over Greg Lopez, who had promised to pardon Peters if he were elected, to win the right to face Democratic Gov. Jared Polis to become the state’s top elected official.
While many analysts focused on the triad of races as pitting election deniers against more establishment candidates in a trend that mirrored contests nationwide, the three victors also brought stronger business focuses to their campaigns.
Many among the hundreds of people that gathered Tuesday at Mile High Station — the Denver event venue owned by O’Dea and his wife, Celeste — emphasized that the marquee races now include candidates who want to debate inflation, energy policy and government regulations far more than they want to look back to the 2020 vote.
“The Republican party in the state of Colorado, we have a new day dawning here where pragmatic, serious, issue-minded candidates will lead the ticket,” said state Rep. Colin Larson, a Littleton Republican who formerly owned several coffee shops and has been one of the leading voices for business in his caucus at the Capitol.
That’s not to say that Democrats, all of whom secured renomination without primary contests, aren’t business-minded. Polis launched and sold two internet-focused companies for large sums of money in the late 1990s before entering politics, while Bennet worked as managing director for the Anschutz Investment Company before turning to government.
But Polis and Bennet in particular have different approaches to areas ranging from environmental regulations to taxation of corporations than their newly minted opponents do, which should lead to robust discussions about those policies in the coming months.
And the victories of the trio likely have several other consequences for the business community.
Businesses need certainty to operate, and having candidates who talk about the impediments to such certainty will give employers confidence to bring their issues forward, said Dan Haley, president/CEO of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association. The possibility of a general election focused on election conspiracies and extremist candidates would have meant that concerns about rising energy prices and a volatile economy could have been pushed to the side; now, that’s unlikely to happen, he said.
“Coloradans deserve a debate about the issues,” Haley said at O’Dea’s gathering. “We cannot get sidetracked with fringe candidates or fringe issues, because the real issues are far too important.”
O’Dea, in his primary victory speech, laid out what he plans to focus his campaign on — inflation, federal spending, the national debt, energy policy, gas prices and crime that is affecting both businesses and individuals. He emphasized that he has employed “thousands of families” in the 30 years that he has operated Concrete Express, and he said he wants to create an atmosphere where everyone can start their business or work their dream job like he has.
“I’m running for the Senate because I want that formula: Hard work and endless possibilities,” he said.
Ganahl, who holds an at-large seat on the University of Colorado Board of Regents, has said she hopes to roll back several state regulations, particularly those that inhibit oil and gas production. Anderson, the former Jefferson County clerk and recorder, said that while she does not intend to change regulations or fees that affect businesses that register with the secretary of state’s office, she hopes to provide a stable atmosphere that will let employers focus on running their firms.
Beyond elevating business issues, Tuesday’s results are likely to draw business money into the races, said Rick Enstrom, whose family has operated a Colorado toffee company for several generations.
In recent years, some business leaders have stayed on the sidelines during general elections, feeling that neither party represented them; now the ballot is topped by people who have owned and run businesses and will ensure that the ability of employers to recover and create jobs will be at the center of issue discussions.
“In the past, we may have sat on our hands because we’ve been hindered with a series of losses,” Enstrom said of past primary and general elections. “That’s not the case this year.”
In addition to the Senate, gubernatorial and secretary of state races determined by the primary results Tuesday, Colorado residents will have two other statewide races for executive office on the November ballot whose candidates did not face contested primaries. Democratic state Treasurer Dave Young will face Republican former state Rep. Lang Sias as he seeks re-election, and Attorney General Phil Weiser will square off against Republican John Kellner, district attorney for the 18th Judicial District, as he battles for a second term.
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