Former Interior Secretary Dave Bernhardt has endorsed Gino Campana for the Republican nomination to take on Democrat U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet.
Bernhardt made the announcement Friday in a statement to Colorado Politics:
“Gino is the embodiment of the American Dream, a Trump appointee, an entrepreneur, and someone who knows what it takes to fight – he’ll go toe-to-toe with President Biden and fight for the state we love. It’s time to replace Michael Bennet, and Gino Campana is the man to do it.”
Bernhardt is a native of Rifle, a Trump appointee and the driving force for relocating the Bureau of Land Management to Grand Junction.
It’s a significant endorsement, and somewhat ironic considering Bennet isn’t lifting a finger to stop the Biden administration from moving the western land agency back inside the Beltway.
“As a Coloradan who grew up on the Western Slope, I know it is critical to have a senator in Washington fighting to put Colorado’s public lands and water first and that person is Gino Campana,” Bernhardt told Colorado Politics in a written statement.
🚨🚨 ENDORSEMENT 🚨🚨 @SecBernhardt knows Colorado — he is from the the Western Slope and took care of our National Parks. I am proud to receive his endorsement. #COPol #CoSen #Gino2022 #GinoForSenate pic.twitter.com/D6C42QQW7a
— Gino Campana (@gino_campana) November 19, 2021
Campana says Bennet is just a rubber stamp for the Biden administration’s Washington-first, Colorado-last mentality.
“I’ll fight for Colorado’s public lands, champion economic growth and be a check on Biden’s out-of-control spending that has led to record inflation, hurting hardworking Colorado families,” Campana said.
Bernhardt served as Interior Secretary throughout Trump’s term, and now works for Denver-based Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office.
I am proud to be endorsed by @SecBernhardt. A native Coloradan, Secretary Bernhardt knows our state and who it needs to take on @MichaelBennet. #COPol #Gino2022 #COSen https://t.co/U91jc7uToq
— Gino Campana (@gino_campana) November 19, 2021
The endorsement will certainly help Campana’s candidacy stand out in a crowded field of contenders for the GOP nomination, that now included Joe O’Dea, Eli Bremer, Erik Aadland, Deborah Flora, Peter Yu, Juli Henry and state Rep. Ron Hanks.