Coloradans Will Reject Joe O’Dea
Republican Senate candidate and wealthy self-funding CEO Joe O’Dea has been misleading voters on a wide range of issues, including abortion, and Coloradans can’t trust O’Dea. They will ultimately reject O’Dea because they know he would give Mitch McConnell and MAGA Republicans the majority, and his dishonesty signals to voters that he would be a rubber stamp for their far-right agenda that would hurt working Colorado families. O’Dea is clearly out of step with the majority of Colorado voters on abortion, standing with Trump, Mitch McConnell, and MAGA Republicans, climate and public lands, guns, and Medicare and Social Security.
Abortion:
O’Dea signed a petition to put a 22-week abortion ban with no exceptions for rape and incest on Colorado’s ballot and then voted for it.
O’Dea claimed he wants to go to the Senate to bring “balance to women’s rights.”
O’Dea says he supports a nationwide ban on abortion.
O’Dea says he would have voted to confirm the Supreme Court Justices who overturned Roe v Wade.
O’Dea opposes Colorado’s law that protects the right to choose, and the Senate bill to codify the right to an abortion.
O’Dea bragged about endorsements from pro-life leaders who supported abortion bans.
O’Dea campaigns with anti-abortion Republicans.
Economy:
O’Dea supports extending Trump’s tax cuts for the ultra wealthy which was projected to add nearly $2 billion to the national deficit and hurt working Americans.
O’Dea said he “didn’t see anything in [the Inflation Reduction Act] that [he] like[d]” and spread GOP misinformation about the law.
O’Dea said as a business owner that he would trickle down taxes.
O’Dea opposes releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve which has helped lower energy costs for Colorado families.
Immigration:
O’Dea supports building Trump's medieval border wall.
O’Dea praised Gov. Ron DeSantis for duping asylum seekers and using them for a political stunt.
Standing with Trump, Mitch McConnell, and MAGA Republicans:
O’Dea said he would vote for Trump in 2024 if he were the Republican nominee.
Despite growing evidence that links Trump to Jan. 6th, O’Dea “said Trump does not deserve blame — even in part — for the events that unfolded on Jan. 6.”
O’Dea downplayed the violent insurrection and called it a “rally” and said he “had friends that were at January 6.”
O’Dea proudly campaigns and fundraises with election fraud conspiracy theorists. One of his top donors, Wendy Ferland Meritt, is O’Dea’s business partner’s wife and attended the January 6th insurrection and spread conspiracy theories online.
O’Dea doubled down on calling the Mar-a-Lago investigation a political stunt.
O’Dea’s top financial supporter is a racist megadonor who funded Trump’s reelection and the border wall.
Mitch McConnell attended a fundraiser for O’Dea and called him the “perfect candidate.”
O’Dea ditched the campaign trail to fundraise with MAGA candidates in Florida and Mitch McConnell in Washington DC.
O’Dea proudly campaigns and fundraises with election fraud conspiracy theorists. One of his top donors, Wendy Ferland Meritt, is O’Dea’s business partner’s wife and attended the January 6th insurrection and spread conspiracy theories online.
O’Dea has campaigned and fundraised with National Republicans including George Bush, Tom Cotton, Tim Scott, Cory Gardner, Joni Ernst, Cynthia Lummis, Ronna McDaniels, and Rick Scott.
Guns:
O’Dea said that “we don’t need any more [gun control] laws.”
Backed by the NRA’s Colorado affiliate group.
Opposed the bipartisan gun safety law that passed the Senate with 15 Republican votes.
Said he’s an “advocate” for the Second Amendment.
Supports the program FASTER that allows teachers to receive training to conceal-carry in schools.
Medicare and Social Security:
When asked about reducing Medicare and Social Security benefits O’Dea said, “Well, I think in order to manage the debt, you’re going to have to grab everything… It’s going to be a reduction in some of those programs.”
O’Dea is endorsed by an organization that supported privatizing Social Security.
O’Dea fundraised with George Bush who wanted to privatize Social Security.
Climate and Public Lands:
O’Dea claimed “there’s still a debate there still to be had” about the extent of human contribution to climate change.
O’Dea believes America should not pursue “urgent” climate action.
O’Dea on environmental regulations: “I would default to those people that know – oil and gas people.”
O’Dea didn’t expect America to transition away from fossil fuels in the “next 100 years.”
O’Dea stated that he was “not an advocate for subsidies” when asked for his thoughts on renewable subsidies.
O’Dea supports making cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
League of Conservation Voters Victory Fund (LCV) named O’Dea in the Dirty Dozen.
O’Dea’s super PAC (American Policy Fund) accepted at least $390,000 in donations from individuals, associations, and companies in the oil and gas industry.
One of O’Dea’s super PAC donors was fined over $3 million for violating clean air laws.
O’Dea opposes designating Camp Hale as a national monument and the CORE Act. According to a recent poll from the Center for Western Priorities, more than 8 in 10 Coloradans support national monument protections for CORE Act areas.
O’Dea on environmental regulations: “I would default to those people that know – oil and gas people.”
Workers, Hypocrisy:
According to the Denver Business Journal, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined O’Dea $135,000 for 28 safety worker violations. Additionally, O’Dea was hit with “26 violations of the Davis-Bacon and related acts regarding the payment of prevailing wage and 13 violations of the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act for inadequate payment of workers.”
O’Dea has also attributed his candidacy to his business and said he’s “interested in defending [his] business.”
Colorado labor unions spoke out against O’Dea and rallied in front of his business.
O’Dea thinks workers unions have "outlived a lot of their usefulness."
O’Dea has repeatedly campaigned against “reckless” federal spending and touts the success of his business, however he fails to tell Coloradans that his business’ success is largely attributed to taxpayer money.
The bottom line: Joe O’Dea’s dishonesty in combination with his far-right record speaks for itself – and working Coloradans can’t trust O’Dea to be a voice for them in the Senate. He is way out of step with a majority of Coloradans on a wide range of issues and his desperate attempts of muddying his record only proves that he’ll say or do anything to get elected. Ultimately, Colorado will reject him because he would give Mitch McConnell and national Republicans the majority they need to enact a dangerous MAGA agenda that hurts Coloradans.