Gail Schwartz can beat climate change denier, public lands exploiter, oil and gas industry funded, Tea Bagging Scott Tipton in Colorado’s Third Congressional District. And if we can win here, or better yet, if she is winning here, then a Democratic wave could be building everywhere, putting the House in reach.
The Colorado Pols website is pegging the race tied at the moment, with Schwartz rising and Tipton falling. This may be based more on intangibles than on real polling because there have been no publicly released polls, but Schwartz has raised money and has deep political roots in the district that should pay off for her. This is a district where the Trump meltdown can make all the difference for a downballot race by affecting turnout.
Moreover, if Schwartz can get into office now, she is precisely the sort of politician who could win reelection in the midterms and keep the 3rd blue, and maybe even help turn the 3rd bluer for the long run.
The Third is huge, covering all of Colorado’s Western Slope and a chunk of the eastern plains. It is dominated by deep red Grand Junction in the west and blueish Pueblo in the east, with the mountain towns including places like deep blue Aspen, Crested Butte (where she lives) and Telluride (where I live) and deep red old ranching and mining towns in between. We have been represented by Democratic congressmen, most recently by conservadem John Salazar (brother of former senator and secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar) and before that by Ben Nighthorse Campbell, who won as a Dem, later became an undistinguished Colorado senator, and then switched parties while in office in 1995.
Tipton beat Salazar in the red tidal wave of 2010 and handily won reelection against very weak opponents twice since then. Gail Schwartz represents his first real challenge.
Schwartz is not running to the right or even to the center, although she’s not against fracking, (which is defensible and may be necessary in this district). She’s an unapologetic progressive, emerging from the growing New West population of environmentally minded recreationalists, which is slowly transforming the district as the traditional extractive industries decline. She has been a Colorado state senator representing a portion of the district, a University of Colorado regent representing almost the entire district, and worked in the skiing industry.
Best of all, Schwartz is a skilled politician, is running a strong campaign, and presents herself and her positions with charm and clarity.
What is most exciting about this race is that it’s not one of the races that has captured national attention as a likely or potential Democratic pickup. This makes it’s exactly the sort of race that we need to win to take back the house.
You can show Gail some love at schwartzforcongress.org. Or at Act Blue here: secure.actblue.com/...