COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — The Colorado primary election might not be until June 30, but the two most likely contenders for the governor’s office took some heated jabs at each other this week.
Democratic Senator Michael Bennet announced on Tuesday that he garnered enough valid signatures to become the first gubernatorial candidate to make the primary ballot this year.
Bennet’s campaign submitted about 15,000 valid signatures, including 1,500 from each Congressional district, to access the ballot, according to the Secretary of State's office.
Attorney General Phil Weiser, another Democrat running for governor, is going through the caucus and assembly process. Weiser is almost assured to access the ballot through the party’s state assembly in Pueblo on Saturday, needing at least 30% of the delegate vote.
In a press release announcing his successful signature petition, Sen. Bennet’s team took veiled swipes at Attorney General Weiser, only referring to him as “my opponent.”
“Since launching his campaign last April, Michael has continued to lead the field, outraising his opponent with more than 91% of donations under $100 and a lower average donation, leading his opponent by 27 points in the most recent polling, and earning endorsements from more than 200 Coloradans in every corner of the state,” said Bennet’s release.
While Bennet’s fundraising claims might be accurate, according to TRACER, Colorado’s campaign finance tracker, the Weiser campaign has outraised Bennet’s campaign $4.67 million to $3.5 million as of the latest update.
The next campaign finance reports aren’t due until May.
After Bennet’s announcement that he was the first to make the ballot, Weiser’s campaign stepped up the rhetoric and sent a pointed statement sharply criticizing the three-term senator.
“Phil Weiser has dominated the caucus and assembly process — earning the support of over 85% of Democrats to be Colorado’s next governor — so it's no surprise that Michael Bennet had to drop out and buy his way onto the ballot using paid circulators from an East Coast signature gathering firm,” said Nate Jackson, a Weiser campaign spokesperson.
“Phil isn’t relying on out-of-state billionaires to back his campaign — Phil is powered by the people of Colorado, and as governor, he’ll show up and fight for Coloradans every day,” said Jackson.
Rocky Mountain Way, an independent expenditure committee supporting Bennet, does list $750,000 in contributions from billionaire Michael Bloomberg.
In turn, the Bennet campaign shot back at Weiser’s team when reached for a response to that statement.
“While I’m sure we’re all impressed that Phil Weiser is so far leading a caucus process in which he is the only real candidate competing, Michael has built a strong grassroots team that propelled him to be the first candidate to make the ballot in this race for Governor,” said Jordan Fuja, Bennet’s spokesperson. “It’s disappointing to see Phil Weiser stoop down to attack the 17,000 Colorado voters who supported Michael in an attempt to salvage his campaign that has failed to garner any momentum since Michael entered the race a year ago.”
Mudslinging isn’t anything new in politics, and many would argue it’s the norm, especially for a hotly contested race like Colorado’s gubernatorial. And in the blue state of Colorado, the winner of the Democratic primary is the clear frontrunner to win the midterm election in November.
Despite the back-and-forth between two of Colorado’s top Democrats, state party chair Shad Murib dismissed it as a “competitive” primary. You can read a statement from Chair Murib below:
“We’re a big, diverse party with people who care deeply about the future of our state, and that passion often shows up in spirited campaigns. Like every other state and the country, we're having a vigorous debate about what the future of the Democratic Party looks like, and that's what the American people expect of us.”
Murib posited that Colorado’s Democrats are united on a variety of issues, including “standing up to the cruelty of the Trump administration and the Colorado Republicans who enable it.”
“As we head toward the State Assembly, Democrats from across Colorado will come together to debate ideas, hear from candidates, and build on that momentum as we move forward united around our shared values,” he said.
Still, in recent one-on-one interviews KOAA conducted with both Bennet and Weiser, each candidate addressed how they felt about their fellow Democratic opponent in the race.
Bennet said he spoke to Weiser about three times before he got into the race. Weiser was the first to launch his campaign in January. Bennet followed in April.
“Well, he said to me that he always thought he would have a primary in that race. He didn't think it would be with me, I think is what he said,” Bennet told KOAA in January.
- Watch News5's interview with Senator Bennet below:
“I've spent more time in every corner of the state than I think any elected official in generations,” Bennet said. “And I hope to be able to bring that set of experiences, which I think is every bit as valuable–maybe even more valuable–than the experience that I've had on the Senate floor.”
In the one-on-one with Weiser, he said he was “surprised” to learn Bennet had launched a campaign.
- Watch News5's interview with Attorney General Weiser below:
“I had heard directly from him that he wasn't interested or thinking about it, so it was obviously something of news that he was going to do it,” Weiser told KOAA last month.
“It's his right to run. My challenge is to make sure that people know what the choices are, and I believe Senator Bennett's best use of Colorado is to stay as a US Senator, where he's got 17 years' experience and ready to be chair of the Agriculture Committee if the Democrats can take the Senate,” said Weiser.
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