In what will likely be Colorado’s most competitive U.S. House race, Weld County Commissioner Lori Saine blasted two of her opponents, Thornton Mayor Jan Kulmann and former Green Beret Tyler Allcorn, for allegedly hiding their stances on Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court decision guaranteeing a person’s right to have an abortion.
In a May 11 Facebook post, Saine accused the pair of being “PRO-ABORT RINOS.”
“Two of my opponents (Allcorn & Kulmann) have been completely SILENT about their views on abortion, especially in light of the recent SCOTUS news,” wrote Saine on Facebook May 5. “They are already looking to please their DC Swamp big money masters. Not me. Silence is why Republicans lose.”
In the wake of Saine’s attack, Allcorn has said he actually favors the overturn of Roe, calling the release of the draft decision to toss out the decision “great news.”
“Yes,” Allcorn told the Colorado Times Recorder when asked if he favors the overturn of Roe, adding that he issued a news release with his stance on Roe after Saine made her claim on Facebook.
“I am a pro-life candidate, and what was leaked out is great news for us in the pro-life community,” said Allcorn. “And what happened a few weeks later in the Senate, with it being shot down — the liberals trying to pass a law — that was another huge win for us, for the pro-life community.”
“We need to keep the pedal to the metal,” Allcorn continued. “We need to continue to push forward because it’s going to be coming back to the states, and it’s going to be even more important that we make sure to keep the pressure on.”
Kulmann also supports an end to Roe.
“I support the states making these decisions,” said Kulmann in a statement May 26, when asked if she wants “Roe to be overturned,” as her opponents do. “And, I look forward to making the case to voters that [Democratic candidate] Yadira Caraveo’s support for late term abortions is too extreme.”
Both Saine and a fourth candidate in the race, state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, denounced Roe publicly shortly after the leak of the draft U.S. Supreme Court decision on May 3.
“Roe v Wade was a terrible decision that was not Constitutionally sound, and millions of unborn babies have died as a result,” wrote state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer (R-Weld) on her Facebook page.
For her part, Saine pasted two memes in response to the Supreme Court news. “ABORTION IS MURDER,” states one of Saine’s memes. The other: “END ABORTION IN AMERICA.” Saine tweeted, “No one in this race can match my strong 100% pro-life record,” and she liked the SCOTUS news.
Dr. Yadira Caraveo, who’s the only Democrat in the race, called her opponents’ positions on the right to choose “infuriating — but not surprising.”
“For years, my opponents have attacked the rights of women, pledging to not only ban abortion, but IVF and some birth control as well,” said Caraveo in a statement. “They’re even lying about my record in an attempt to hide their extreme views. In Congress, I will fight to guarantee a woman’s right to choose at the federal level, just as we’ve done in Colorado.”
The winner of the June 28 GOP primary will take on Caraveo to represent the district, which is situated in suburbs north of Denver, and it’s expected to be among the most competitive congressional races in the country in November. An eighth congressional district was assigned to Colorado after the 2020 Census.
Two candidates in another fiercely contested Republican primary — to win the GOP spot to take on Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet in November — do not share the same stance on Roe, as the Republicans vying to represent Colorado’s Eighth Congressional District do.
State Rep. Ron Hanks (R-Canon City) is going on the offensive against his Republican opponent Joe O’Dea for saying, among other things, that he would “probably vote to codify Roe v. and Casey” and he “couldn’t support putting limits on women earlier in the pregnancy.”
“Joe O’Dea is now, not only running as a pro-abortion candidate in a Republican primary, he’s siding with the radical Democrat lobby set on taking away states’ rights on the issue,” said Hanks in a May 20 news release. “O’Dea’s pro-abortion position defies the Republican National Committee’s and the Colorado GOP’s pro-life platform.”
Some political analysts doubt that a pro-choice Republican can win a GOP primary race in Colorado, where anti-abortion sentiment runs high among core Republican voters.
Nearly half of Colorado GOP voters won’t even “consider” voting for a “pro-choice” candidate, according to a 2018 poll conducted by Magellan Strategies, a Republican firm in Colorado.
