Colorado GOP Continues to Applaud Ron Hanks While Gino Campana Panders to Far-Right Base

Denver, CO – Elections were the main focus of last night’s GOP Senate primary forum which gave Ron Hanks the platform he needed to push conspiracy theories about the 2020 election being stolen. Hanks came into the forum with a fresh endorsement from Colorado election conspiracy theorist Joe Oltmann, and he was applauded at the forum for saying “Trump won this.”

Last month, two-thirds of the GOP House caucus voted to formally thank Hanks for attending the Jan. 6 insurrection and he also won straw polls after forums in El Paso County and Grand Junction.

“Ron Hanks and his election conspiracy theories continue to be the center of gravity and he’s transformed the Republican primary into an audition for Trump’s approval. Gino Campana is desperately trying to prove himself to Republican caucus-goers by flaunting Trump endorsements he got through his daughter – when in reality, he’s masquerading as a conservative who attacks government spending but shamelessly takes PPP loans and doesn’t pay them back.” –Colorado Democratic Party spokesperson Nico Delgado

While Hanks is ramping up his support with the far-right base, ultra wealthy CEO Gino Campana is trying to solidify his conservative bonafides with endorsements that he got through his daughter and the recent addition of Kellyanne Conway as senior advisor. Campana is desperate to prove to far-right caucus-goers that he’s one of them, when in reality he’s taken advantage of taxpayer-funded loans and was involved with the Obama administration.

When asked about his involvement with the Obama administration at the Weld County forum, Campana said “I had no time in the Obama administration,” but he lists working with the Obama admin on his campaign website and city councilman bio. In December 2020, Campana told the Coloradoan: “Not unlike in the Obama administration where I tried to pitch in where I could, working with them on sexual assault and domestic violence, I have been reaching out to the Trump administration since the beginning asking how I could help.”

At this point in the primary, the GOP is only able to offer Hanks’ election conspiracy theories and Campana’s deceptiveness – and it is too out of touch with Coloradans.

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