Yesterday, Republican U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner was a brilliant guest on KDVR with Joe St. George in which St. George, never a friend to conservatives, asked Gardner why those who already are writing him off, saying that he has no chance to win in 2020, are wrong. Gardner’s answer:
“You can ask Sen. Udall that question.”
Ouch. The truth hurts. The full exchange is even better – it’s just a glimpse into the insanely great candidate that Gardner is:
Video: @SenCoryGardner on the crowded Democratic field running against him in 2020 and what he says to critics who say he has no chance of winning. “Just asked Mark Udall” he responds. #copolitics #kdvr pic.twitter.com/lWPdlHCbJK
— Joe St. George (@JoeStGeorge) June 12, 2019
Democrats on social media freaked out that Gardner just didn’t know what was coming. Here are a few examples:
That’s a pretty arrogant response from a guy who earned 97,000 less votes than Walker Stapleton did in 2018.
The same Walker Stapleton who lost by over 10 points to Jared Polis. #copolitics #cosen
— Pourshoushtari (@davidkpoursh) June 12, 2019
Um, that’s a really dumb response given the huge change in voter registration numbers. Republicans had a 50K advantage in 2014 – and not only do *Democrats* now have a 50K advantage, Rs are 3rd in registration. #COpolitics
— Laura Chapin (@LauraChapin) June 12, 2019
While it’s true that any statewide campaign here in Colorado is an uphill battle for any Republican, Gardner is no slouch. He’s an engaging communicator and machine-like campaigner. He’s a Republican that can win over the moms in Highlands Ranch. He’s right to be confident in his campaign team that expertly steered his campaign in 2014.
As for Democrats, at last count, there are approximately 18 in the running for the chance to take on Gardner. By the time the party whittles it down to one, that one will be seriously damaged and likely broke. See, Democrats are comparing running their battered and bruised candidate to Polis’ campaign. Polis was (is?) a deca-millionaire. He had dozens of field offices throughout Colorado starting in January of 2018. A candidate spending his own cash on a race is far different than outside groups spending Bloomberg dollars to support a candidate. And, then, there’s the very real possibility that they could select a Bernie Sanders disciple as their candidate, which would simply alienate most of Colorado.
Democrats probably shouldn’t count their chickens before they hatch.