Democrats in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District overwhelming chose former state Sen. Gail Schwartz on Friday to run against the Republican incumbent, Rep. Scott Tipton of Cortez. Good for them. Schwartz is a bright and energetic woman who should run a spirited campaign.
That is not an endorsement of Schwartz, but an affirmation of democracy. The voters deserve to have two strong candidates and the exposition of the issues that should result. Uncontested races are also uninformative.
Schwartz won going away with the support of 70 percent of the delegates. Gordon Bronson, an Aspen political consultant, dropped out and switched his support to Schwartz when she entered the race. Eagle veterinarian Steve Sheldon missed the 30 percent threshold needed to make the ballot for the June 28 primary by one vote.
Schwartz is well known and well regarded. She has served on the Colorado Commission on Higher Education and was elected to the University of Colorado Board of Regents for six years. In 2006, she was elected to the state Senate from District 5, which includes her Gunnison home. She was reelected four years later to serve the full eight years allowed by term limits.
The issues Schwartz lists as her priorities range from ensuring access to quality education and health care to promoting economic development and protecting the environment. It is an agenda that fits the district.
She will have her hands full with Scott Tipton, however. Also a veteran of the state Legislature, Tipton was first elected to Congress in 2010 when he unseated the incumbent, John Salazar. The Cortez Republican won 50 percent to 46 percent. Since then he has only upped his margin, winning by 53 percent in 2012 and 58 percent two years ago.
Tipton has taken strong conservative positions on a number of issues such as the national debt, which play well with his GOP base. But he has also worked with government on matters important to his district.
If the presidential circus does not bleed over, the voters of the 3rd District should be in for an informative and interesting contest.
