The Colorado Semi-Open Primary was completed on June 28, 2022. Some of the results were pleasing to some of us and some were a disappointment. I would like to go over the results and then discuss what we are going to do in the upcoming General Election in November.
Overall, the voter turnout was pretty strong for a Primary Election. Statewide 1,217,383 ballots were cast out of 3,793,194 active registered voters for a 32.09% voter turnout rate. An analysis at the State GOP office of the last 4 Primary elections showed 277,000 out of 1.8 million voters voted in 3 of the last 4 elections or 15%. This year’s results were more than double those numbers. So, voter turnout statewide was up.
Here in Delta County, we had a good turnout. The following numbers show voter turnout for the last three primary elections:
Election Year: | 2022 | 2020 | 2018 |
Total Eligible Voters | | 22,528 | 21,491 |
Total Eligible Active Voters | 21,638 | 20,310 | 18,969 |
Total Registered Voters who Voted | 10,004 | 10,282 | 7,497 |
Percentage of Active Registered Voters that Voted | 46.23% | 50.63% | 34.88% |
Voter turnout for past elections in Delta County has varied. The Special District Election held this past May 3 had a 35% voter turnout. The November 2, 2021 Coordinated Election, which included School Board races, had a 44% voter turnout. The November 3, 2020 General Election had an incredible 88% voter turnout and the March 3, 2020 Presidential Primary election had a 51% voter turnout, with 7,496 Republican voting and Donald Trump receiving 7,198 of those votes or 96.02%.
How does Delta County’s voter turnout compare statewide? Pretty well, actually. Delta County had the 13th highest voter turnout out of Colorado’s 64 counties. The other high turnout counties are: *
Jackson County – 68.19%.
Kiowa County – 66.54%.
Mineral County – 58.44%
Rio Blanco County – 57.87%.
Washington County – 56.68%.
Custer County – 55.99%.
Ouray County – 53.49%.
Dolores County – 51.59%.
Hinsdale County – 50.36%.
Montrose County – 47.49%.
Baca County – 48.94%.
Yuma County – 46.86%.
Delta County – 46.23%.
Mesa County – 43.78%.
* Note, data is from the Colorado Secretary of State website on July 10, 2022. So arguably, one could state that voter turnout is the most important factor in getting your candidate elected.
As a side note, there were 144 voters who voted in person at either the Delta County Health and Human Services Building or the North Fork Annex in Hotchkiss out of 10,004 voters. This means only 1.43% of Delta County voters voted in person. Rene Loy informed me that generally 4-7 % of the voters vote in person. Of the 10,004 ballots that were cast, 107 were rejected and 419 were returned as undeliverable. There were 3,403 ballots (34%) counted on Monday and Tuesday, June 27 & 28.
Looking at the actual races in the Primary, the following table shows the results in Delta County, Statewide and the Total Votes cast for each race by political party, D=Democrat primary, R=Republican primary. Note, that the statewide winner of each race is shown in BOLD.
Office: | Candidate: | Delta County: | State: | Total Votes |
US Senate | Michael Bennett (D) | 1,835 | 427,177 | 516,948 |
| Ron Hanks | 4,421 | 288,464 | |
| Joe O'Dea (R) | 2,810 | 345,024 | 633,488 |
US Congress CD3 | Lauren Boerbert (R) | 5,829 | 86,325 | 130,807 |
| Don Coram (R) | 2,112 | 44,482 | |
| Adam Frisch (D) | 825 | 25,750 | 60,717 |
| Soledad Tafoya (D) | 737 | 25,460 | |
| Alex Walker (D) | 344 | 9,507 | |
Governor | Jared Polis (D) | 1,864 | 523,453 | 523,453 |
| Greg Lopez (R) | 4,477 | 292,163 | |
| Heidi Ganahl (R) | 2,750 | 341,124 | 633,287 |
Secretary of State | Jena Griswold (D) | 1,824 | 510,426 | 510,426 |
| Tina Peters (R) | 2,872 | 180,036 | |
| Mike O'Donnell (R) | 2,216 | 175,136 | |
| Pam Anderson (R) | 2,267 | 268,614 | 623,786 |
County Com. D1 | Mike Lane (R) | 5,900 | N/A | 5,900 |
| Dick Gilmore (D) | 1,736 | N/A | 1,736 |
So, what does all this mean? Overall, more Republicans voted for Republican candidates than Democrats voted for Democrat candidates. Is this an indication of what will happen in November. I hope so, but we really don’t know. I do know that many of our voters were disappointed that Ron Hanks, Greg Lopez and Tina Peters did not prevail. In fact, there are claims of voter fraud. Again, I have seen no sign of that here in Delta County. Look at the results in the above table. Greg Lopez gathered 62% of the vote here in Delta County, but only 46% statewide. Ron Hanks also received 62% of the vote in Delta County and 45% of the vote statewide. Tina Peters only got 39% of Delta County’s votes and 28% statewide. My assessment from speaking with other voters is that all three of these candidates did fairly well in Delta County but failed to convince voters in the Front Range corridor. Lauren Boebert won because her campaign outworked the Coram campaign. I cannot see any proof of voter fraud in the losses of Hanks, Lopez and Peters. I am not trying to discount the concerns about voter fraud, I am just saying that I have not seen any proof that it occurred in the Primary election. And, I believe the above data shows that hard campaigning and voter turnout are key to getting a candidate elected.
I know many are absolutely convinced that voter fraud is the Single or perhaps Only factor in Republicans getting elected. Many of these folks seem to believe that if we don’t eliminate the current voting systems currently in place in Colorado, we will never win another election. I do not believe this. I think that there is no way that the current system will be changed by the November election. We have to win as many of the upcoming races as we possibly can. And I believe we can if we get enough voters out and they vote for Republican candidates. I have heard comments like, I will NEVER vote for that RINO (Republican In Name Only)! This type of reaction will only assure that the Democrats will get elected. I want to share several comments that were sent out this past week on this issue.
This first comment was posted on the Colorado Voter Integrity network, Basecamp. This is from Douglas County Republican JT Takeda:
Labeling people as RINOs or references to a uni party as reasons NOT to vote for them in the general is nonsense on many levels. ANY R is better than a D in these two vitally important elections 2022 & 2024. It is existential for America…are you really going to cut off your nose to spite your face? I am aware of candidates you may feel are suspect but I encourage you to enlist those in our party who can get down to the facts of any candidates you still have reservations. Get behind OUR candidates now that the primary is done. Talk to them directly about your concerns and make them better for us all. This is a team sport and the stakes are higher than ever. Get over your purity tests and single issues or feelings and above all, continue to check your bias, keep learning, don’t rest on assumptions and presumptions…for WE MUST be better together to be better for all…we must be better together to deserve better.
This next entry is an email sent out by Colorado Republican State Chairwoman Kristi Burton Brown:
Hello Colorado Republicans - Thanks to each of you who campaigned for or donated to a Republican candidate who was on our primary ballot. Your time and money are so valuable as we work to take back our state from the radical left. I'm convinced we have the strongest slate Republicans have run in Colorado in many years. From the county level up to the federal offices, we are running business owners and entrepreneurs, military veterans, women, Hispanic leaders, parents, and many other nominees who represent the uniqueness of their own communities. Some of you may have worked hard for a candidate who did not win. In my political work, I've lost campaigns I deeply cared about, too. It's never fun, and it's difficult to pick yourself back up and believe again. But...it's been worth it -- every single time -- to try again and do the next right thing. If your preferred candidate lost on June 28th, I'd ask that you find another Republican candidate who you can get behind from now until November. There are *so many* Republicans running for office across our state, and I'm certain that there is someone you can believe in who needs your help. Without a doubt, it's going to take every single one of us to get across the finish line in November. The only way we beat the radical left is to stick together. And any Republican on our ballots in November is, hands down, better than the Democrat they're running against. Let's use our passion, our principles, and our Party to win for freedom. And let's make sure we're leaving nothing on the line as we go out to fight for the people. Never surrender! Chairwoman | Colorado GOP
The last comment is from a radio broadcast on the Glenn Beck Show. I don’t have the exact words but I’ll summarize what I heard. Stu Burguire was discussing how the Republicans are poised to gain control of the US Senate in the November Election, UNLESS they blow it. Stu described the stakes. If the Republicans attack each other or don’t support their candidates – because those candidates are perceived as not being conservative enough or to use a common pejorative acronym – a RINO (a Republican in Name Only). If that happens and the Democrats actually pick up seats in the Senate, then they will surely abolish the filibuster and pack the Supreme Court. Stu went on to say less conservative Republicans can always be pushed to take more conservative positions and even evolve into more conservative legislators. But a Democrat will not. In fact, they are being pressured by progressive Democrats to become more liberal.
We have seen Republicans lose before. Complicating this issue are candidates that refuse to concede and are planning to run as Third-Party candidates – such as Danielle Neuschwanger. After losing her bid for the Republican nomination for governor at the Republican State Assembly, Neuschwanger switched her affiliation to the American Constitution Party. There has NEVER been a Third-Party candidate who has won a major election. The ONLY thing a Third-Party candidate has done is to get the candidate for the other party elected. Here is list of elections where the Third-Party candidate helped elect the other party’s candidate:
1860 US Presidential election: John Breckenridge and Stephen Douglas ran as Democrats and split the Democrat vote allowing Republican Abraham Lincoln to win.
1912 Presidential election: Incumbent Republican William Howard Taft ran against Woodrow Wilson. Former President Teddy Roosevelt felt Taft had not carried out the policies started by Roosevelt so he ran against Taft in the Primary. He lost and then ran as a Third-Party candidate on the Bull Moose Ticket. This split the Republican vote and Democrat Woodrow Wilson was elected.
1992 Presidential election: Incumbent Republican George HW Bush ran against Democrat Bill Clinton. Billionaire Ross Perot ran as an Independent Third-Party candidate focusing on challenging the North America Free Trade Act (NAFTA) and reducing the national debt. Clinton won with 43% of the popular vote, Bush had 37% and Perot with 19%. Perot’s votes allowed Clinton to win.
2000 Presidential election: Republican George W Bush against Democrat Al Gore. Ralph Nader ran as a Green Party candidate receiving 2.9 million votes, siphoning off enough Democrat votes to allow Republican George W. Bush to win.
2016 Presidential election: Republican Donald Trump against Democrat Hillary Clinton. Third-party candidates Bernie Sanders, Gary Johnson and Jill Stein took votes away from Hillary Clinton allowing Donald Trump to win.
November 2, 2021 Delta County Coordinated Election. Three conservative candidates ran against one progressive for the District 5 seat on the School Board. Conservative candidates Luke McCrain 24.58%, Brian Kopko 24.75% and Nicole Milner 18.53% lost to Progressive candidate Jennifer McGavin with 32.1% of the vote.
I hope these examples show what happens when Third-Party candidates run. If you want to win elections DO NOT VOTE for a Third-Party candidate.
The following Republican candidates will be on the ballot in the November 8, 2022 General Election in Delta County:
Office: | Republican Candidate: | Opposed/Unopposed | Democrat Opponent: |
County Commissioner D1 | Mike Lane | Opposed | Dick Gilmore |
County Sheriff | Mark Taylor | Unopposed | |
County Clerk | Terri Stephenson | Unopposed | |
County Assessor | Jolene George | Unopposed | |
County Treasurer | Lisa Tafoya | Unopposed | |
County Coroner | Lance Boren | Unopposed | |
HD54 Representative | Matt Soper | Opposed | Alice Marie Slaven-Emond |
HD58 Representative | Marc Catlin | Opposed | Kevin Kuns |
SD 7 Senator | Janice Rich | Opposed | David Stahlke |
Governor | Heidi Ganahl | Opposed | Jared Polis |
Lieutenant Governor | No Republican Candidate | Opposed | Diane Primevera |
Attorney General | John Kellnor | Phillip Weiser | |
Secretary of State | Pam Anderson | Opposed | Jena Griswold |
Treasurer | Lang Sias | Opposed | David Young |
State Board of Education | Dan Maloit | Opposed | Kathy Plomer |
Us Senator | Joe O'Dea | Opposed | Michael Bennett |
CD3 Representative | Lauren Boebert | Opposed | Adam Frisch |
NOTE: Incumbents are shown in BOLD.
There are Seventeen races - 5 races unopposed, 12 races contested. We need to get behind these candidates and get them elected. As I noted in my last blog, there are other Republican candidates that we can and should support, such as Colorado House District 57 candidate Perry Will. We will be discussing strategies and plans for helping these candidates at our August DCRCC meeting in Austin. We need your help to overcome the Democrats and their policies that are destroying the America that we knew just two short years ago. Don’t let pride or ego keep you from supporting Republican candidates and creating the Red Wave that can happen this fall!
David Bradford
Delta County Republican Central Committee Chairman
Addendum – Republican candidate for Secretary of State, Pam Anderson, stopped by the DCRCC HQ at 405 Main Street in Delta on Friday afternoon. Shirley Baur does all the scheduling of candidates for the DCRCC. Shirley was able to arrange a Meet & Greet as Anderson traveled between events in Montrose and Eagle. This was an excellent opportunity to meet one of the Republican candidates whom many Republicans have questions about. Twenty-some people showed up to see for themselves who Pam Anderson is and what she stands for. Anderson took questions for an hour. The questions were direct and hard but respectful. Attendees asked why Anderson did not go through the State Assembly but instead petitioned to get on the ballot. Anderson responded that she believed she could establish a broader base by going through the petition process but she did not have sufficient funding to do both the petition and the Assembly. Anderson was asked if she was receiving funds from Mark Zuckerberg. She stated she has never received funds from Zuckerberg, has never met Zuckerberg and has never worked for Zuckerberg. One of the organizations she has volunteered to assist – the Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL) she serves on the Board of Directors in a volunteer, unpaid capacity. She stated her purpose in working with this group is to provide accurate election information as they pursue their mission (to “connect Americans with the information they need to become and remain civically engaged, and ensure that our elections are more professional, inclusive, and secure.”) There were many other questions that were asked and Anderson responded in a very professional, calm and knowledgeable manner. She came across as a very qualified candidate for Secretary of State. I realize that if you have heard the criticisms of Pam Anderson, you may still be skeptical if not down-right hostile towards Pam Anderson. I can only say, I am glad I got to see and hear Pam Anderson speak for myself. I got to hear that Pam Anderson was a two-term County Clerk in Jefferson County, that she has been very active in the Colorado Republican Party, including serving as a PCP in the Jefferson County Republican Committee, run elections at the Colorado Republican State Assembly and served as Director of the Colorado County Clerks Association. Getting to see and hear a candidate speak for yourself is so much better than relying on information that comes from someone else who is giving their version which comes through their filter and is interpreted through their perspective. Take advantage of the opportunities we are providing to see who these candidates are. Pam Anderson said she hopes to be coming back to Delta County. Come check her out when she does. Finally, Shirley Bauer is working to get Republican candidate for Attorney General, John Kellner, here in Delta. Watch for an email or check our website for information on when that will be – hopefully by the end of the month. DB