no more meddling
These Colorado Democrats are reportedly angry at the party's coronation of John Hickenlooper
Ever since former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) jumped into the Democratic presidential primary race, he heard calls urging him to run for Senate against incumbent Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) instead. But, now that he's done just that, it turns out the Democratic Party in his home state isn't so thrilled with the news, The Denver Post reports.
The national party's Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee threw its weight behind Hickenlooper last week, but emails obtained by the Post reveal that many of Colorado's state-level Democratic officials were unhappy with the national wing interfering in their primaries, which include 11 other candidates.
Dana Torpey-Newman, the chair of the Douglas County Democratic Party said Hickenlooper "neither understands nor cares about the true problems in our country" and expressed frustration that she must remain politically neutral while the DSCC can back a specific candidate. Another official called the endorsement a "slap in the face," while others wanted to approach the DSCC directly and explain to the national party that its endorsement was "unacceptable."
The other candidates running in their primary were also irked, pointing out that Colorado has never sent a woman to represent the state in the upper chamber. "One has to wonder if circumstances such as this have contributed to that unfortunate outcome," the six woman primary candidates wrote in a joint letter to the DSCC.
Not everyone took an issue with the DSCC, however. Peter Monson, secretary of the Clear Creek County Democrats, said he doesn't think the endorsement "will have much sway among primary voters," while others believe it's more important to avoid descending into intra-party turmoil. Read more at The Denver Post.