Longtime Republican strategist Dick Wadhams told The Denver Post this week that congressional candidate Barbara Kirkmeyer “does not have a record of being an activist on abortion.”
In fact, shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Kirkmeyer celebrated the decision and specifically noted her long history of working with the anti-abortion movement.
The end of Roe was an “exciting day for those of us who have toiled for the pro-life cause for so long!” wrote Kirkmeyer, a Republican.
On her Facebook page, she stated, “Roe v Wade was a terrible decision that was not Constitutionally sound, and millions of unborn babies have died as a result.”
Roe guaranteed the right to abortion early in pregnancy. Kirkmeyer has said she’s against all abortion, whatever the circumstances, at whatever stage of pregnancy, even for rape and incest. She’s now saying she favors abortion to save the mother’s life. Her campaign website also includes the statement, “I have been pro-life my entire life.”
In her campaign for Colorado’s new congressional seat, Kirkmeyer has promoted herself as an anti-abortion activist, bragging in a campaign video this year that she was the “only candidate” in her race to speak at an anti-abortion rally at the Colorado Capitol, where she denounced legislation, introduced by Democratic lawmakers, to codify the right to an abortion in state law.
“The pro-life cause isn’t always popular, but I’m confident we are on the right side of history,” Kirkmeyer said in a March Facebook ad. “Back in January, I was the only candidate for CD 8 to speak at the March for Life Rally.”
Wadhams didn’t return a voice mail seeking to know why he thinks Kirkmeyer has not been an “activist on abortion.”
Kirkmeyer, who’s currently a state senator, faces Democratic state Rep. Yadira Caraveo.
Caraveo, a medical doctor, is a pro-choice Democrat who’s promised to “fight to guarantee a woman’s right to choose at the federal level, just as we’ve done in Colorado.”
The two are vying to represent the 8th Congressional District, which lies mostly north of Denver. The district was assigned to Colorado after the 2020 Census, and it’s expected to be among the most competitive races in November.
