Two days after a big shake-up in the Republican battle for a spot on the U.S. Senate ballot, state Sen. Randy Baumgardner hit the campaign trail hard Friday.
Baumgardner ended a long, multi-city day in Durango, where he met with people at a lightly attended meet-and-greet at Christina’s Grill & Bar on U.S. Highway 160.
One thing on his mind was uniting the Republican party in its battle to topple incumbent U.S. Sen. Mark Udall. Conservatives, tea party, Constitution party and all Republicans are in this together, he said.
“We agree 85 percent of the time,” he said. “We agree 100 percent that we don’t agree with how we’re being represented in Washington.
“Even families don’t agree 100 percent of the time. What I’m trying to do is convince people, let’s not fracture.”
The shake-up occurred Wednesday when state Republican party officials announced that Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck, who had been the frontrunner for the U.S. Senate nomination, would run instead for the U.S. House seat currently held by Cory Gardner. Gardner, seen as more electable by Republican strategists, will jump into the U.S. Senate race.
Baumgardner, who is 57, said he was blindsided by the switch, which he said had been in the works for two weeks, although he had not been informed. The switch came a day after Buck took part in a debate in Denver among the Senate candidates. Baumgardner did not attend Tuesday’s debate because of a prior engagement.
“Maybe it’s politics. I’m not that way,” he said Friday while talking with La Plata County Republican Central Committee Chairman Brad Blake. “I think you need to be upfront with people.”
Baumgardner, who hails from Hot Sulphur Springs, the seat of Grand County in north-central Colorado, is an Indiana native.
He was first elected to the state House in 2008 and served two two-year terms. He was elected to the state Senate, a four-year-term, in 2012.
The main Republican candidates competing to challenge Udall are state Sen. Amy Stephens of Monument, state Sen. Owen Hill of Colorado Springs and Gardner.
“If he wants it, he can have it, but he’s going to have to fight me for it,” Baumgardner said of Gardner. “If Cory comes out of the primary election,” he shrugged his shoulders, “I’ll support him.”
Baumgardner left Denver on Thursday, stopping in Aspen and Grand Junction. Friday he appeared in Delta, Montrose, Ridgway, Sawpit and Cortez before arriving in Durango.
“I represent rural Colorado. This is rural Colorado,” Baumgardner said. “I want the rural parts of Colorado heard. Not just the I-25 corridor.”
Baumgardner spent some time Friday talking about upholding Second Amendment rights and how he voted against all the Democrats’ gun bills in 2013. On the issue of forest fires, he was quick to respond.
“Let people go in and start clearing trees out, even in wilderness,” he said. “It’s going to burn. And then what are you going to protect? Why don’t we let people go in and clean that timber out?”
Weather permitting, Baumgardner planned to drive this morning over storm-ravaged Wolf Creek Pass and be in Cañon City in time for a 1 p.m. campaign stop.
johnp@durangoherald.com
