July 7, 2016 VOLUME 121 | ISSUE 23 | 75¢
BLESSED GIFTS Christian organization provides toys, sports equipment as part of outreach on PAGE 10.
ElbertCountyNews.net A publication of
E L B E R T C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
Registration changes may have tipped election Margin in close race was smaller than number of new affiliations
Director of Elections Judd Choate pays a visit to the Elbert County Election Department on June 20. Over the past four years Choate has visited all 64 counties to observe how counties handle their vote-counting process. Photo by Rick Gustafson
By Rick Gustafson Special to Colorado Community Media Unofficial results from the June 28 Republican primary election show that Grant Thayer narrowly defeated former Elbert County Republican Party Central Committee Chair Scott Wills in the race for Elbert County commissioner by 97 votes, or by 2.34 percentage points. Thayer’s District III primary victory may have been made possible by unaffiliated
voters and a small number of Democrats who changed their party affiliation to Republican in the months leading up to the June 28 primary. According to Colorado election rules, anyone previously affiliated with a political party who changed their affiliation by May 27 was eligible to vote in their new party’s primary on June 28. Unaffiliated voters were permitted to join any party and vote in the primary up to and including the day of the election. “It is part of the dynamic of our registration process,” said Tom Peterson, chair of Election continues on Page 9
U.S. SENATE RACE
Glenn to challenge Bennet El Paso County official wins GOP primary vote By James Anderson Associated Press
Voter Sharon Oliver of Elizabeth cast her ballot in the Walmart drop box. According to County Clerk and recorder over 23 percent of the ballots cast in Elbert County were submitted in the store’s drop box. Photo by Rick Gustafson
GOP primaries hotly contested Lewis tops Dore; race between Thayer and Wills is squeaker By Rick Gustafson Special to Colorado Community Media In a county with an overwhelming majority of a single political party, primary elections can take on the feel and energy of a general election, and in Elbert County, passions ran high leading to the Republican primaries on June 28. Though the results will not be official until July 7, the preliminary vote in the primaries have been tabulated, and the largest margin to come out of the election came at the expense of
incumbent Tim Dore in the Republican primary for House District 64. Challenger Kimmi Lewis defeated the two-term representative with just over 68 percent of the 10,667 votes cast in the nine counties making up the district. Though Lewis’ margin of victory in Elbert County was smaller than the district at large, she still received 2,445 votes (59.3 percent) compared with Dore’s tally of 1,679 (40.7 percent). “The good people of HD 64 have spoken and they want true grassroots, citizen-focused conservative leadership in the Colorado State House,” Lewis wrote in a statement to Elbert County News. “I am so pleased to have that duty given to me as we move forward to that goal. It will be
my honor to fight for our local communities and agricultural lands in HD 64 and ensure that the federal or state governments don’t infringe on our constitutional rights.” Lewis also thanked her supporters and the volunteers throughout the 64 district “My campaign was primarily funded by myself and the constituents of HD 64 who donated over $28,000. I am so appreciative of these generous donations from the people of this district but quite humbled as well,” she wrote. Democratic Party candidate Kathleen J. Conway, who was running unopposed, received her party’s
Darryl Glenn, an El Paso County commissioner from deeply conservative Colorado Springs, rode endorsements from Sen. Ted Cruz and other big names on the right to win Colorado’s Republican Senate primary and face a well-funded Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet in November. Glenn’s decisive victory in the June 28 five-way primary set up an uphill battle with Bennet, once considered vulnerable in this swing state for his close association with President Barack Obama. Only two years ago, Coloradans ousted Democratic Sen. Mark Udall and replaced him with then-U.S. Rep. Cory Gardner. Having outflanked his fellow conservatives to secure the nomination, Glenn now has to tack to the center — as Gardner did in 2014 — to woo enough of Colorado’s independent voters, who outnumber both registered Republicans and Democrats. Glenn said he was confident he could expand his appeal to moderates and independents. “What we found out during the campaign is that Coloradans care about the Iran deal, Obamacare and excessive regulations that are hurting working families. Michael Bennet has to account for it,” Glenn said. Bennet, meanwhile, has been raising millions for his re-election and aired campaign ads featuring his work for Coloradans while the Republicans slugged it out. Glenn, a self-described Christian constitutional conservative, has embraced Donald Trump, suggested working with Democrats isn’t a priority, and condemned
Races continues on Page 9 Senate continues on Page 9
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