Three GOP candidates for statewide races in Colorado meet voters in Edwards
Candidates for Colorado secretary of state, treasurer and attorney general stop at Etown
Scott N. Miller/smiller@vaildaily.com
Most statewide elections are decided by Colorado’s populous Front Range. But three challengers for state offices are racking up miles in the search for votes. Those candidates gathered Friday in Edwards.
Republicans Lang Sias, Pam Anderson and John Kellner spent some time at Etown to stake out their positions and answer questions from possible voters. All three candidates claimed their incumbent opponents have politicized their offices and pledged to stop the practice.
Here are the websites for the Republican candidates for Colorado treasurer, secretary of state and attorney general.
Pam Anderson is seeking to unseat current Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold. Anderson said Griswold has “put her thumb on the scale” regarding access to the political process, using regulations against conservative groups.
“I want to restore professionalism to the office,” Anderson said, citing her qualifications as the former Jefferson County clerk and recorder, as well as a private election consultant.
“We need a principled professional back in that office,” she added.
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Lang Sias said his incumbent opponent, Colorado Treasurer Dave Young, “rubber stamps” too many policies of the federal Biden administration, as well as the Democrat-controlled Colorado Legislature.
Sias, a Jefferson County resident, cited his experience in the Colorado House of Representatives, adding he wants to combine fiscally conservative principles with working with Democrats on policy issues.
Sias noted an “elitist mindset” of too many people working in state government.
“This state is a lot bigger than Denver and Boulder,” Sias said. “We need a voice outside (that circle).”
John Kellner said his opponent, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, is presiding over state crime rates rising to 25-year highs, including 34% increase in murders across the state.
Kellner is currently the district attorney for the 18th Judicial District — the state’s largest. Kellner noted that 1.1 million people live in the district, and his office has more than 100 prosecutors.
Kellner said Weiser and others aren’t paying enough attention to crime victims, or to those who deal dangerous drugs, particularly fentanyl.
Kellner said his office last week announced a bust of a drug gang in which more than 200,000 fentanyl pills were seized. Each of those pills represents a potential death, Kellner said.
In a conversation after the meet-and-greet, Kellner acknowledged that incumbents often have advantages.
“But I’m going to prosecute the case against (Weiser),” Kellner said. That case includes his record and results that are being seen across Colorado.
Sias said people can see the results of incumbent policies.
Those policies affect residents throughout the state, which is why the candidates are putting thousands of miles on their cars to reach out to rural areas.
Anderson, who Thursday was in Burlington, at the Kit Carson County Fair, said it’s hard to represent the entire state without getting out into its farther-flung areas.
Matt Solomon, an Eagle Republican running for Colorado Senate District 8 who has put thousands of miles on his own vehicle during his run for office, said he’s seen Sias, Anderson and Kellner a number of times while he’s been campaigning.
“I just like getting around the state,” Kellner said.
And, Anderson added, it takes more than just registered Republicans or Democrats to win a statewide race. That means reaching out to everyone, everywhere, she said.
