I know now might not seem like the time for petty donation pleas. But, I feel like this is really important and even if you can't donate, you might be interested in just knowing what's going on in Colorado's 5th Congressional District.
Located in the middle of Colorado, the 5th District has, until now, been solid Republican territory. No Democrat has gotten more than 40.5% of the vote since the district was created in 1972. It has been represented by Rep. Joel Hefley for the last 20 years, a man once ranked as the 5th most conservative member of the House. Today, however, the winds of change are blowing...
After a gruesome 6 way primary, Republican candidate Doug Lamborn (more on him in a minute) has emerged as the conservative go-to guy, but not without leaving a lot of ill-will in his wake. Hefley's long-time assistant, Jeff Crank, was smeared in the campaign by mailers sent by Lamborn campaign affiliates (which Lamborn says he had nothing to do with, but everyone knows he did). Well, I shouldn't say "smeared", because basically Lamborn called Crank "pro-gay", which is what passes for a smear among far too many primary voters in this district. Anyhow, Hefley declined to endorse Lamborn, calling his campaign slimy, and one of the worst he's ever seen. Furthermore, two of Lamborn's primary opponents are also yet to endorse him. In short, Lamborn is extremely weak at this point.
Into this melee stepped Jay Fawcett, Air Force Academy grad, Gulf War vet, combat pilot and retired Lt. Colonel. In a conservative district dominated by military interests, Fawcett's war record stands out against the fact that Lamborn never served in uniform. Furthermore, Fawcett's straightforward demeanor has assured several Republican big-wigs that he's not the milquetoast stereotype they like to think Dems all are. He's already been endorsed by a Republican member of the Colorado Springs city council as well as other prominent Repubs.
Most importantly, a recent poll showed Fawcett leading Lamborn 41-28.
Today, an e-mail from the Fawcett campaign went out to his supporters asking for donations. In this e-mail, the campaign has asked for donations ahead of the Sept. 30th filing deadline. Moreover, the campaign noted that Colorado Springs (which contains 80% of the district's voters) is one of the cheapest media markets in the country, and that 50k in ad money here is the equivalent of up to five times as much in some other markets. So, if you want to make sure that a lot of Democratic ads get seen by some swing voters in a red state, please, please donate to Jay Fawcett. Since I'm just a college kid and can't spare a donation, I thought the next best thing would be to come here and ask you good DUers. I know we're all asked to donate all the time, but if you haven't found a good candidate to donate to yet, please consider Jay. Here's his website:
www.fawcett4congress.com
A final thought: Doug Lamborn, even during the primary, was the chosen candidate of James Dobson and Focus on the Family, who have basically bought and paid for the Lamborn campaign. On our side, Max Cleland is coming out to support Jay at a debate on military issues sponsored by Colorado Veterans for America. Well, at least it was supposed to be a debate but, and excuse my yelling LAMBORN HAS REFUSED TO DEBATE FAWCETT ON MILITARY ISSUES ALONE, even after challenging Fawcett to four other debates.
So, if you want to make Max Cleland happy and James Dobson sad, please donate to Jay Fawcett for Congress.