Colorado lawmakers react to Biden’s reelection bid

BY CAITLYN KIM COLORADO PUBLIC RADIO

When Joe Biden o cially announced his reelection campaign Tuesday, Democrat Sen. John Hickenlooper was the rst of Colorado’s delegation out of the gate to throw his support behind the president.

e former governor said via Twitter that under Biden’s leadership, “we’ve made historic investments in our nation’s aging infrastructure, spurred clean energy innovation, and brought manufacturing jobs back to America. But this is only the beginning – let’s nish the job!”

Hickenlooper, who had a short lived presidential campaign in 2019 before running for Senate, was referencing bipartisan bills that passed in the last Congress, such as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the CHIPs Act, as well as partisan bills such as the In ation Reduction Act.

Freshman Rep. Brittany Pettersen noted that Biden took o ce during “one of the most di cult times” in the country’s history, including a global pandemic and a mob attacking the U.S. Capitol.

“Starting on day one, he stepped up to support our families, businesses, and communities through the pandemic, and led one of the most productive Congress’ in a century,” she said in a statement.

“ ere is still a lot more work to do and President Biden has proved that he is the leader who will continue to confront the most urgent challenges of our time, and most importantly, will protect our democracy and defend the rights and freedoms of individuals across our country.” e dean of the Colorado Congressional delegation, Democrat Diana DeGette retweeted Biden’s announcement, adding, “Now is the time for all of us to get involved and lay the groundwork so that we can protect our rights and win big in 2024!”

“ ere’s still more to do,” said Democrat Jason Crow in a fundraising appeal highlighting Biden’s decision to run for reelection. “I’m proud to stand alongside the President today, and I hope you are too.” Biden’s announcement sets up a possible 2020 rematch with Donald Trump in two years, although both men have to get through their respective primaries rst. Marianne Williamson and Robert Kennedy Jr. are also seeking the Democratic nomination.

When asked about a possible Biden run during his own reelection campaign last year, Democrat Michael Bennet often thanked the president for being a candidate who could and did beat Trump.

On Tuesday, Bennet echoed Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ message that more work needs to be done. “We can protect our democracy and continue to deliver for the American people,” he said via tweet.

Trump was the rst Republican to announce his run back in November.

Western Slope Republican Lauren Boebert endorsed Trump for president in March. e conservative representatives has been a strong backer of Trump’s.

After Biden’s announcement, she tweeted “America will not be rewarding his failures with another term & I hope you will all join me in ghting hard to re-elect President Donald J. Trump!”

Colorado’s other federally elected Republicans haven’t backed candidates in their party’s primary yet.

Republican Ken Buck met with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis when he was in Washington, D.C. last week, but has not endorsed anyone.

But Buck was quick to criticize Biden in the wake of his announcement. In a tweet highlighting an anti-Biden opinion piece, Buck wrote, “Four more years of rampant in ation, skyrocketing energy prices, lawlessness at the border, and emboldened adversaries in Russia and China sounds like a prison sentence.”

Colorado Springs Republican Doug Lamborn also has not ocially endorsed anyone in the GOP race for the nomination. He did serve as an honorary co-chair for Trump’s reelection in Colorado in 2020, along with former GOP Rep. Scott Tipton.

Aside from Trump, a number of other Republicans have jumped into the race, including former South Carolina Governor and Trump’s rst

U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, while others, like DeSantis and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, are mulling runs.

About Letters To The Editor

Colorado Community Media welcomes letters to the editor. Please note the following rules:

• Email your letter to letters@coloradocommunitymedia.com. Do not send via postal mail. Put the words “letter to the editor” in the email subject line.

• Submit your letter by 5 p.m. on Wednesday in order to have it considered for publication in the following week’s newspaper.

• Letters must be no longer than 400 words.

• Letters should be exclusively submitted to Colorado Community Media and should not submitted to other outlets or previously posted on websites or social media. Submitted letters become the property of CCM and should not be republished elsewhere.

• Letters advocating for a political candidate should focus on that candidate’s qualifications for o ce. We cannot publish letters that contain unverified negative information about a candidate’s opponent. Letters advocating for or against a political candidate or ballot issue will not be published within 12 days of an election.

This story is from CPR News, a nonprofit news source. Used by permission. For more, and to support Colorado Public Radio, visit cpr.org.

• Publication of any given letter is at our discretion. Letters are published as space is available.

• We will edit letters for clarity, grammar, punctuation and length and write headlines (titles) for letters at our discretion.

• Please don’t send us more than one letter per month. First priority for publication will be given to writers who have not submitted letters to us recently.

• Submit your letter in a Word document or in the body of an email. No PDFs or Google Docs, please.

• Include your full name, address and phone number. We will publish only your name and city or town of residence, but all of the information requested is needed for us to verify you are who you say you are.

• Letters will be considered only from people living in Colorado Community Media’s circulation area in Adams, Arapahoe, Clear Creek, Denver, Douglas, Elbert, Je erson and Weld counties.

• Do not use all caps, italics or bold text.

• Keep it polite: No name calling or “mudslinging.”