Five young teenagers sold hats emblazoned with the words “Pro God, Pro Gun,” along with other pro-Trump merchandise at a “Rocky Mountain Rumble and Get Out the Vote” event at the Clifton Community Center in western Colorado, Sunday, Oct. 20.
Inside the gymnasium, a number of Republican leaders spoke, including 3rd Congressional District candidate Jeff Hurd, state Sen. Janice Rich, Mesa County Commissioner Cody Davis, and House District 58 Rep. Marc Catlin (R-Montrose) – who is term-limited and running for a state Senate seat. Speakers also included state Rep. Matt Soper (R-Delta) who is running for reelection to House District 54, Mesa County Valley School District 51 School Board of Education President Andrea Haitz; Sean Pond, a leading opponent of the Dolores River Canyons National Monument designation; and Mesa County Commissioner Bobbie Daniel. Local Fruita musician James Williams performed guitar and sang at the rally.
Catlin is running against Democrat Cole Buerger of Glenwood Springs for Senate District 5, which encompasses much of the central Western Slope east of Grand Junction. During his brief remarks he gave a shout-out to Donald Trump.
“We have (former) President Trump say if we don’t win this could be our last one (election),” Catlin said. “If you know someone who does not vote, help that person fill out a ballot and carry it to the ballot box. We have to have the turnout.”
Catlin, who previously voted to thank election conspiracist and former state Rep. Ron Hanks for his participation in the Jan. 6 insurrection, refused to answer a question from a reporter as to whether he believed the 2020 Presidential election was stolen from Trump.
Former gubernatorial candidate Heidi Ganahl, who is still an outspoken election denier not only about 2020 but also her own 2022 loss, organized and hosted the rally where she promoted her Rocky Mountain Voice media outlet, she said she founded to “give the center-right a voice.”
Ganahl began her speech by saying she would use “nice words” because “we have a media person here from the other side,” referencing this reporter. She then asked the audience if they saw Trump making French fries earlier that day at McDonalds – an event she described as “pretty awesome.”
The fast-food chain was closed during the event, where supporters were screened by the U.S. Secret Service and positioned before Trump’s arrival. Trump dodged a reporter’s question whether he supported a minimum wage increase.
House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese followed Ganahl’s remarks. “We are going to change Colorado back to the conservative values we love,” said Pugliese. “We’re going to elect a President whose values we support.”
Trump has been convicted of 34 felonies, found liable for sexual abuse and defamation against E. Jean Carrroll, and, if elected again, has threatened to deploy the military against his opponents.
Pond spoke against a proposal on November’s ballot that would designate a new Dolores River Canyons National Monument in southwest Colorado, claiming it would negatively affect ranchers and prevent uranium mining in the area. He ended with “No more national monuments; No more national conservation areas.”
Hurd, who is running against Democrat Adam Frisch, was there with his wife and five children. Touting his Grand Junction roots, Hurd said he is running to create economic opportunities so children will stay and thrive in western Colorado. He introduced his wife, an immigrant from Czechoslovakia, who lived under a Socialist regime, who he said does not want to return to that system of government.
Hurd also said we need to secure the (U.S.-Mexico) border, grow the energy economy, and support agriculture and its access to water.
Hurd, who was among the first Colorado GOP candidates to say on the record that Trump didn’t win, nevertheless promoted his appearance alongside Ganahl on Facebook, posting, “I am excited to be joining Heidi Ganahl, RoseforColorado, Janice Rich, Cody Davis, Bobbie Daniel, Andrea Haitz, Marc Catlin, & Sean Pond tomorrow for our Republican Rally. Remember to get out and vote!”
Mesa County Commissioner Cody Davis spoke out against Proposition 127, a ballot initiative that would ban trophy hunting of bobcats, mountain lions, and lynx. Davis called the measure an “attack on rural Colorado and our way of life.”
Davis, who is in a competitive race with retired Colorado Mesa University Spanish professor Tom Acker, said that Democrats are pouring a lot of money into county commissioner races, referencing a campaign effort by the state party to invest in local candidates running in traditionally red counties.
Rich, who represents Senate District 7, mentioned that 40% of evangelicals do not vote, and that the same percentage of nonvoters also applies to gun owners. She urged people if they know someone like that to tell them to vote.
“When Kamala (Harris) says “Let me be clear,” that’s the last coherent thing you’ll hear from her,” Rich said, sparking laughter from the audience.
Like Catlin, Rich also voted in 2022 to thank Ron Hanks for attending Jan 6. However, earlier this year, as a former Mesa County Clerk, she also signed on to a letter of current and former Republican election officials (Rich was the Mesa County Clerk from 2003-10), decrying their party leadership’s decision to perpetuate election fraud conspiracies. Rich and her GOP colleagues specifically objected to the party’s support of another Mesa Clerk, Tina Peters, who was just sentenced to nine years in prison for election-related crimes.
Rich then went on to urge people to vote for Trump, who has increasingly shown signs of mental decline in the past few months.
“Whether you like him (Trump) or not, we know he has our interests at heart,” Rich said.
