Not many surprises from the Colorado Springs Gazette Editorial Board endorsements that were rolled out over the weekend. The endorsements mostly focused on Republican primary contests, the board gave their seal of approval to typically the front runners in every race.
In what is the most watched local race, the bi-annual food fight for the 5th Congressional District seat, the Gazette endorsed Doug Lamborn, a 10-plus year incumbent. Recent polling from Magellan showed Darryl Glenn slightly trailing Lamborn, yet Glenn’s name didn’t even merit a mention in the piece. State Senator Owen Hill is also running for Lamborn’s seat. Maybe if Colorado Springs Republicans could one day decide on one person to go against Lamborn, they may get some fresh blood representing Colorado Springs in Congress. But maybe that’s not what El Paso County wants.
The board also endorsed Walker Stapleton for governor. This comes on the heels of mayor John Suthers also endorsing Stapleton last week against the scenic backdrop of America the Beautiful Park. Whether that translates into a motherload of votes out of the state’s most important Republican stronghold will be revealed on June 26.
Dennis Hisey also got the nod for the State Senate District 2 primary. Hisey has already been running for this seat for more than 12 months, and we are still more than five months out from the election. Was he the first 2018 candidate to declare? Sure feels that way.
In what could be considered the only out-of-the-box recommendation from the Gazette’s ed board, it gave a qualified thumbs-up to former CD-5 candidate Calandra Vargas. Vargas is a well-known conservative activist who has lived in El Paso County for 25 years and says it is where “my family will continue to build a future.” The ed board’s endorsement was half-hearted though, as it stressed that the district “will win with either candidate,” and encouraged voters who wanted a “millennial buzzsaw” to vote for Vargas. Hm. Is that a compliment?