Ron Hanks, who is vying for the Republican nomination in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, believes he is the candidate best positioned to represent what he calls “Trump Country.”
Hanks, a former Arabic linguist in the U.S. Air Force, former state representative for Colorado House District 60 and hard-line President Donald Trump supporter, believes Republicans in the district need a representative who more closely reflects Republican Party priorities.
“I’m running to promote the America First agenda,” Hanks said in an interview with The Durango Herald on June 12. “We have two more years of President Trump, and I believe his agenda is in the best interest of the nation.”
Hanks said he is a staunch supporter of most of Trump’s policies and, if elected, he would approach his role as advising the administration rather than opposing it.
He entered this year’s race after candidate Hope Scheppelman dropped out at the request of the president and will be facing off against incumbent U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd during primaries June 30.
This is not Hanks’ first challenge against Hurd. He lost to Hurd by about 13 percentage points in the 2024 Republican primary.
He said he decided to challenge Hurd again because he believes the congressman has failed to adequately represent Republican constituents.
“He deserves to have an opponent, because I think he’s been quite an abject failure,” Hanks said.
Hurd did not respond to a request for comment in response to Hanks’ many criticisms.
The president has had to spend “too much time trying to keep (Hurd) in line,” he said.
He cited Hurd’s recent vote in favor of sending aid to Ukraine, and the congressman’s public disapproval of Trump’s decision to pardon those convicted in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, among other examples.
Hurd previously referred to the Jan. 6 riots as a “dark day in American history.”
Hanks said he was at the Capitol on Jan. 6 but did not breach the building. He said it was “an honorable day” that has been distorted by the leftist media.
He criticized the congressman for what he described as a continuous absence from public events and for not being a true Republican representative.
“I will show up at events that are not Trump‑friendly or Hanks‑friendly,” he said. “If I’m invited to them, and I’m in the district, I will make those commitments. Jeff Hurd has not done that. Jeff Hurd has not even met with Republican constituents.”
Hanks said voters “shouldn’t have to guess” where their representative stands.
“Everybody knows where I stand, because I’m brave enough to put it out there, but it’s also out of respect for the voters,” he said. “Nobody should have to guess, and that means people on the right or the left.”
Hanks is loud and proud when it comes to his support for Trump and the Make America Great Again movement.
When asked about disagreements he may have with the president, he said the president is moving too slowly in Iran, although Hanks emphasized he is in support of the premise of the attack.
“I do wish he would pick up the pace on it,” he said.
He supports the president’s push for expanded domestic energy production, and the administration’s immigration enforcement efforts.
On the state’s water shortage, he said Colorado should stop sending additional Colorado River water downstream solely to maintain turbine head pressure at Glen Canyon Dam, saying the practice unnecessarily depletes upstream reservoirs with unnecessary releases.
As a longer-term solution, he suggested small modular nuclear reactors built along California’s coast to power seawater desalination plants.
He also supports expanding domestic production of critical minerals such as copper, uranium and vanadium, arguing the materials are essential to national security and American manufacturing.
He said he would support critical mineral mining in La Plata County if economically viable deposits are discovered. His comments come as Metallic Minerals, a mineral exploration company, explores the feasibility of a critical minerals project in the La Plata Mountains.
Hanks said federal conservation efforts amount to unconstitutional “land grabs” that deprive economic benefit and strip communities of the right to enjoy lands.
Hanks also faulted Hurd for supporting the Gunnison Outdoor Resources Protection Act alongside Colorado Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper. The act was drafted at the request of Gunnison County and protects more than 730,000 acres of public lands in western Colorado.
“Right now the federal government owns 36% of Colorado, and that's a lot of land,” he said. “Most of my major concern is they’re going to lock it up and make it inaccessible to the people for enjoyment.”
jbowman@durangoherald.com
