A GOP Senate primary that was expected to get down and dirty has lived up to its billing, with attack campaign mailers hitting mailboxes in northwestern Colorado around the same time mail ballots went out.
Rep. Randy Baumgardner is challenging Sen. Jean White of Hayden in the GOP primary for Senate District 8.
Outside groups are paying for the mailers, which rip the two lawmakers for their votes in the legislature.
“There’s nothing you can do about the third-party groups. They do what they do,” Baumgardner said. “Hopefully people will not respond to untruths.”
Their race is one of 20 Senate seats up for election this year, but only one of six contested Senate primary races. The winner of the June 26 primary faces Democrat Emily Tracy in November.
The negative piece against White features a photograph of two men kissing and targets her vote last year and this year in support of a bill allowing same-sex couples to form civil unions.
“Protecting Colorado’s families isn’t Jean White’s priority,” the mailer says. “She’s joining Denver liberals attacking traditional marriage in Colorado.”
The mailer, which most voters received on Monday, was paid for by Public Advocates for the United States, a conservative Washington, D.C., group.
White, who has a gay niece and a gay nephew, said most voters don’t bring up civil unions.
So far, Baumgardner has been hit with two unflattering pieces, both paid for by a group called Coloradans for Integrity. The mailers feature a picture of Baumgardner on the House floor with his eyes closed, and voters are told to tell the lawmaker to wake up.
One mailer says Baumgardner was one of only four House members to vote against a “plan to protect northwest Colorado families from dangerous sex offenders.” He said the flier is “a lie” as he voted for the bill and he’s called the attorney general’s office about the flier.
The other mailer said Baumgardner claims to be a Republican but voted with Democrats in 2009 to hike vehicle-registration fees. Baumgardner said he did support the bill, which doubled the amount that goes into an emergency medical services account from $1 to $2.
He said the flier is intended to mislead voters into thinking he voted for FASTER, a bill that increased registration fees three years in a row to raise money for road and bridge repairs. It also raised the amount of late fees from nothing or $10 to a maximum of $100, a penalty Baumgardner has unsuccessfully tried to reduce.
Baumgardner, who is giving up his seat in the House to challenge White, said he’s the most conservative candidate in the race, which makes him a better fit for the district. He accused White of voting with Democrats.
White said she listens. She said she regularly talks to voters, county commissioners, hospital directors, school superintendent and city council members.
“I vote for my district,” she said. “I put a lot of thought process into it.”
She accused Baumgardner of voting with the Front Range, saying he voted against a fire-mitigation bill and a measure to restore severance tax dollars to impacted communities.
White was appointed to the Senate seat her husband, Al White, once held. He resigned to become director of tourism for Democrat John Hickenlooper, who became governor in January 2011.
The Whites once owned ski shops, a lodge and a bike shop in Grand County, and both have been avid promoters of tourism. That’s reflected in Jean White’s campaign donations, including $400 from Colorado Ski Country USA’s political-action committee and $250 from Kathy Brown, owner of the Fort restaurant.
White also received $200 from Republican Jack Taylor of Steamboat Springs, who once held the Senate seat.
Baumgardner is a cattle rancher who oversees property in Grand and Jackson counties, which is reflected in his donations. He received donations ranging anywhere from $100 to $400 from Coloradans who listed their occupation as ranching or agricultural.
Lynn Bartels: 303-954-5327 or lbartels@denverpost.com
