Trump’s whistle-stop in Colorado could backfire for Republicans | WADHAMS | Opinion

Republicans in Colorado are trying to regain relevance after devastating defeats in the last three elections that stemmed from deep anti-Trump sentiment among unaffiliated voters. Having former President Donald Trump visit Aurora to tout his massive deportation policy will only hurt Republican candidates in contested elections.

Aurora has been at the center of debates in the presidential campaign since it was revealed that a Venezuelan gang had been terrorizing residents in run-down apartment buildings. Trump described the entire city as being controlled by these lawless gangs.

At the same time, he falsely claims that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio stole and ate pets.

Since his loss to Vice President Kamala Harris in the recent debate, he has doubled down on these false allegations and has now declared that he will visit Springfield and Aurora.

Stay up to date: Sign up to receive daily opinions in your inbox Monday through Friday

Ironically, the mayor of Aurora who is effectively dealing with this gang problem without using the inflammatory rhetoric that Aurora is a gang-controlled war zone is Mike Coffman. Coffman lost his congressional seat centered on Aurora in 2018 after five terms due to strong opposition to Trump in the competitive Sixth Congressional District.

There is a legitimate debate to be had over President Joe Biden and Vice President Harris’ failed immigration policies that resulted in a virtually open border. Cities and towns across the country, including Denver and Aurora, have paid dearly for this massive increase in illegal immigrants. Harris cannot escape her own culpability for this failed policy fiasco.

Trump did indeed stabilize the border during his presidency, particularly with his “Remain in Mexico” policy, which was immediately repealed by Biden and Harris when they took office in 2021.

But since the deeply unpopular and physically ailing Biden was pushed out of the presidential race by nervous Democrats and Harris won the Democratic nomination without a primary campaign, Trump has been unable to run a focused, disciplined campaign, while Harris has a narrow but very real lead in the polls.

Amazingly, Harris continues to deviate from her liberal, if not democratic socialist, stance, including on the issue of immigration, where she now claims to support building a wall and cracking down on illegal immigration.

Trump’s best and only effective attack on Harris during the debate came in his closing argument, when he said Harris had four years as vice president to implement her new agenda, so why should voters think she could do it in another four years?

And that’s the danger for Colorado’s Republican candidates, who are running in hotly contested state and congressional elections. Given his performance since the debate, a Trump visit won’t clarify Biden and Harris’ failed immigration policies. He’ll likely just repeat falsehoods about Aurora and Springfield, with an added dose of conspiracy theories about voter fraud.

Biden was such a weak candidate that a poll earlier this year had Trump leading in Colorado by mid-single digits. But a recent Morning Consult poll shows Harris leading Trump by 15 percentage points, 55 to 40. This stark reality is overshadowed by previous defeats in the state.

In 2016, Trump lost to Hillary Clinton in Colorado by four percentage points. In the 2018 midterm elections in Colorado, Trump’s approval rating remained consistent in the mid-30s, while his disapproval ratings were in the mid- to high-50s.

Dragged down by these numbers, Republicans lost every statewide election in 2018 and lost control of the Colorado State Senate after four years of Republican majority.

U.S. Senator Cory Gardner ousted Democratic incumbent Mark Udall in 2014, but was defeated by John Hickenlooper in 2020 when Trump lost Colorado to Biden by 14 points.

Trump’s unpopularity among nonpartisan voters in the 2022 midterm elections deepened following his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him and his irresponsible behavior during his supporters’ attack on the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Making matters worse, the leadership of the Colorado Republican Party is dysfunctional and corrupt and has done virtually nothing for candidates except pursue issues that alienate unaffiliated voters. Former chairman Dave Williams was recently ousted by the Colorado Republican State Central Committee, but a judge will decide whether newly elected chairman Eli Bremer can serve after Williams refused to step down.

Such dominance by the Democrats has not been seen since the 1930s.

Fortunately, there are strong Republican candidates running successful campaigns and focusing on the issues that matter to Coloradans. Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen and House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese are filling the void left by the state party by supporting these candidates.

Republican lawmakers like Senator Barbara Kirkmeyer and Representative Lisa Frizell played a crucial role in passing property tax reform legislation despite being heavily outnumbered.

The Democrats have a veto-proof majority of 46 to 19 votes in the House of Representatives and a majority of 23 to 12 votes in the Senate. This means they are only one vote short of a veto-proof two-thirds majority.

Meanwhile, Republican Representative Gabe Evans can win the hotly contested 8th Congressional District. Attorney Jeff Hurd of Grand Junction has a good chance of winning the vacant 3rd Congressional District.

But none of these Republican candidates in hotly contested races can afford the distraction of a presidential campaign visit, which could further exacerbate the deep opposition among unaffiliated voters, who currently make up 48 percent of Colorado voters.

Dick Wadhams is a former Colorado Republican state chairman and worked for U.S. Senator Bill Armstrong for nine years before managing campaigns for U.S. Senators Hank Brown and Wayne Allard, Governor Bill Owens and U.S. Senator John Thune of South Dakota.