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Colorado primary voters made it clear most of the state is off limits to crazies and wackadoos. It is a welcome outcome that is good for the state.
Personally, I am still pleasantly surprised by what happened on Tuesday. Primaries have traditionally been a slanted battleground on which the extremist elements of the two major parties have held the high ground.
Only a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of people vote in primaries. Because the extremes on either end tend to be the most passionate, they typically turn out in disproportionate numbers. Candidates who appeal to that bloc often win.
For example, the Republican 4th Congressional District race followed that script. Rep. Lauren Boebert, switching sides of the state, won with a plurality while her five opponents split the anti-Boebert vote among themselves.
Boebert is a bombastic presence prone to missing votes in her relentless hunt for television cameras to spew right-wing rhetoric. That plan did, afterall, propell her into Congress in the first place.
But that was the exception on Election Night.
Dominated by extremist elements that put the hateful, spiteful Dave “But I Really Want to Be in Congress” Williams in charge, the official Colorado Republican Party ended with more than just egg on its face. It seemed more like they sat beneath an entire chicken coop.
For the first time in memory, the Colorado GOP chose to take sides in primaries after Williams massaged the party rules over the past year. Predictably, he used the process to handpick candidates who shared his penchant for offensive positions and predisposition toward authoritarian rule. Almost all candidates endorsed by the party lost.
In the 3rd Congressional District, Williams gave the stamp of approval to Ron Hanks, a failed U.S. Senate candidate and January 6th attendee who cannot tell the difference between a voting machine and a copier. He lost to all-around good guy Jeff Hurd, a kind, thoughtful attorney who prefers problem-solving to bombast.
Adam Frisch, the Democratic nominee who chased Boebert across the state, certainly would have preferred Hanks. Now that race may be one of the most highly competitive in the whole country. Again.
Things only got weirder in the 8th Congressional District. Williams chose a disgraced doctor who had his medical license stripped years ago over current State Rep. Gabe Evans. This is the same Evans who prostrated himself over the clown show impeachment hearing against Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold. That counted little for Williams. Likely, Evans’ real sin was his relationship with Americans for Prosperity, a conservative group Williams despises. Evans trounced the bad doctor Tuesday.
And finally, in a Kafkaesque move, Williams endorsed himself in the 5th Congressional District. He drained the already dwindled party coffers to bolster his meager fundraising and touted his endorsement from Donald Trump. In a one-on-one matchup against a respected candidate with ties to monied special interests (Jeff Crank used to be the state director for the aforementioned Americans for Prosperity), Williams only ended up embarrassing himself.
While the GOP backlash stole the show, Democrats were also quietly hewing toward the center as well. State Rep. Elisabeth Epps, the paramount radical left member of the state House, lost her first re-election bid by a nearly two-to-one margin. Apparently infighting with Democratic colleagues and self-aggrandizing screams from the gallery were not what voters had in mind when they elected her two years ago.
Likewise, Tim Hernández, who joined Epps at the extreme end of the aisle, lost his first election since being appointed to fill a vacancy in the legislature. He could not escape rhetoric that left many in his own party aghast and appalled.
These outcomes are certainly welcome. They represent another victory for unaffiliated voters participating in either major party’s primary process. After staving off the most virulent election deniers in 2022, unaffiliated participation curbed the outward trajectory of both parties again this year.
Of course, Colorado can do even better. Afterall, Boebert is still the heavy favorite to return to Congress. While I think Trisha Calvarese is a stronger candidate than most believe (I got to know her as I represented her in a ballot access lawsuit filed against her), in a one-on-one election, the district leans heavily toward Boebert.
But what if Colorado adopted the Alaska open-primary, ranked-choice general election format? The top four candidates proceeding on to the general election would be Boebert, Calvarese, Ike McCorkle (D), and Jerry Sonnenberg (R).
A ranked choice general could bode as badly for Boebert as it did for Sarah Palin, who lost a congressional race in Alaska in 2022 under that format. Such an option will likely be on the ballot this November, though even if it passes a last-minute legislative change could delay implementation.
We may still be months away from the 2024 general election, but for the most part, Colorado voters did their part to keep our state on the rails. Putting the most reasonable candidates on the ballot in June is the best protection against extreme outcomes in November.
Mario Nicolais is an attorney and columnist who writes on law enforcement, the legal system, health care and public policy. Follow him on Twitter: @MarioNicolaiEsq.
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