Republicans in El Paso County gathered at Boot Barn Hall in Colorado Springs to celebrate their election night wins that preserved the statewide status quo, even as they lost a traditionally red senate seat. While Republicans lost their bid for Sen. Bob Gardner’s (R-Colorado Springs) seat, they didn’t lose any other Senate or House seats, kept Republican control of the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners, and celebrated Jeff Crank’s predictable victory over Democrat River Gassen. The loss of Gardner’s seat was offset by the GOP retaking a reliably conservative seat in Denver that only changed hands when Kevin Priola (D-Brighton) switched parties in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 insurrection.
“I’m a big fan of Ronald Reagan,” said Crank during his victory speech. “Ronald Reagan said in all the profound wording of our Constitution, probably the most meaningful words are the first three — ‘We, the people.” Those of us here today who have been elected to constitutional office are in that three-word phrase. We are of the people. We are chosen by the people to see that no permanent structure of government ever encroaches on the people’s freedom or assumes the power beyond that which is freely been granted to us by the people. We stand between the taxpayer and the tax spender. That’s good advice to all of us. I want to thank you for supporting me. To the others who did not support me and who did not vote for me in the Fifth Congressional District, I will represent you and I will represent every person in the Fifth Congressional District as your conservative voice in Washington.”
While Rep. Marc Snyder (D-Manitou Springs) was able to beat El Paso County Commissioner Stan VanderWerf by just over 1,600 votes for Gardner’s old seat (he was term-limited), elsewhere in the state Sen. Cleave Simpson (R-Alamosa) and Rep. Marc Catlin (R-Montrose) prevailed in their contests, preventing the dreaded Democratic supermajority in both the House and the Senate. Sen. Larry Liston (R-Colorado Springs), Rep. Rose Pugliese (R-El Paso County), Rep. Scott Bottoms (R-Colorado Springs), Rep. Ken DeGraaf (R-Colorado Springs), Rep. Mary Bradfield (R-Fountain), and Jarvis Caldwell all managed to retain seats for Republicans.
“We’re going to have some good fights up in the Capitol this session, I’m sure, especially around parental rights, around education, and medical decisions and protecting your children,” said Pugliese, the House Minority Leader. “I want to thank so many of you who have come to the Capitol, who have been there for us and making sure you get your voices heard. So thank you so much.”
Despite optimism from El Paso County Democrats over the newly redistricted County Commissioner seats, incumbent Carrie Geitner and newcomers Bill Wysong and Cory Applegate won their respective races.
“I am very optimistic that we’re going to have five Republicans still on the Board of County Commissioners, and that’s due to the work work of everybody in this room,” said Geitner. “We have a lot of work to do in El Paso County. We can do it If we stay unified and we work together. We can keep El Paso County red even in the sea of Colorado blue, and we can start to turn back the tide. I believe that we can do it together.”
Despite El Paso County’s conservative majority, local Democrats seem to be on track to retain the seats they’ve won in recent years. Rep. Stephanie Vigil (D-Colorado Springs) is maintaining a narrow lead of just under 500 votes against Republican Rebecca Keltie, and Democrat Amy Paschal will be taking Snyder’s seat, beating out Republican James Boelens.
Crank’s parting advice on election night was to those who didn’t win their races. “If you didn’t win tonight — I lost my election eight years ago, but God gave me nothing but blessings since that moment,” he said. “This is my hope for you: that you will stay in the fight. Liberty and freedom are worth fighting for. Don’t ever give up that fight. What you do in the valleys of life are as important as what you do on the mountain tops in life. So stay strong. Stand tough. Don’t be bitter. Be a happy warrior.”
