- Updated 8/10, primary results now final. Victory on 8/8 came to most of the candidates I favored. Legislative, only McNaught and Holloway went down. Paschall and Kopel lost their county treasurer bids, the latter by an excruciating 36 votes out of 24,000 cast; a recount is pending there. Dyer won easily for Arapahoe commissioner - with my vote, as it turned out.
"Right wing flies high," said the Rocky afterward. But now comes the hard part: electing Beauprez as governor and taking back a GOP legislature. To achieve that, we need more of the class shown by Candy Figa in her HD-38 loss to Matt Dunn, and less of the coyness manifest in Betty Ann Habig's refusal to congratulate HD-37 winner Spencer Swalm.
Many of us in Colorado are already casting our ballots in the August 8 primary election. Donna and I will do the "vote at your kitchen table" thing this week.
I'm glad our state has genuine party primaries where one must be registered in the party to participate. Michigan and some other states have this odd open primary system allowing Republican nominating contests to be hijacked with frivolous votes from Dems and unaffiliateds, or vice versa. Ugh. My thoughts on why parties are good for American politics are here.
Anyway, what with my 30-plus years in the local GOP and my several campaigns (mixed win-loss record), neighbors sometimes ask how I voted. So here's the rundown.
** Spencer Swalm for House District 37, my own state representative. He's a true Reaganite, enough said.
** Dan Kopelman for Arapahoe County Treasurer. He's a staff alumnus of Tancredo and Coffman, well qualified to keep the county's checkbook and collect our taxes (ugh again).
** Still deciding between Zimmer and Dyer for Arapahoe County Commissioner. Both are better on taxes and spending than McKnight.
Outside my immediate area, I really like Matt Dunn for House 38 over in Littleton... and in the Senate primaries I've endorsed Ted Harvey in Douglas County, Mike Kopp in Jeffco, also Marty Neilsen in the neighboring Jeffco & mountain district, Scott Renfroe in Weld, and Josh Penry out west in Grand Junction.
Oops, several more state House races to mention... Kevan McNaught for HD-51 in Loveland, Pat Holloway for HD-23 in Jeffco, also Marsha Looper for HD-19 and Kent Lambert for HD-14, both in Colorado Springs.
And Doug Lamborn, known to me as a fine conservative from our Senate years together, is my guy for Congress in that hot 5th CD primary centered in the Springs.
Lastly, Mark Paschall deserves another term as Jefferson County Treasurer; we were legislative allies in defense of the taxpayer and the traditional family.
A high-ranking election official told me today that with no statewide contests, the primary turnout is expected to be very light. That means YOUR vote counts all the more. Cast it wisely!