{"id":104558,"date":"2016-06-18T01:02:00","date_gmt":"2016-06-18T07:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/senate-primary-graham-stands-apart-on-some-issues\/"},"modified":"2016-06-18T01:02:00","modified_gmt":"2016-06-18T07:02:00","slug":"senate-primary-graham-stands-apart-on-some-issues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/senate-primary-graham-stands-apart-on-some-issues\/","title":{"rendered":"Senate primary: Graham stands apart on some issues"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Graham\"
Graham<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

DENVER \u2013 Jack Graham is the quieter, more centered candidate in a noisy right-leaning Republican U.S. Senate race.<\/p>\n

Of his four opponents, he was the last to enter the race.<\/p>\n

The former Colorado State University athletic director\u2019s Jan. 30 announcement generated media attention, but by that time, there was a bit of fatigue.<\/p>\n

Some candidates \u2013 such as Colorado Springs businessman Robert Blaha \u2013 entered the race with a splash. Blaha sent bobbleheads of U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet to newsrooms across the state.<\/p>\n

Bennet is the incumbent Democrat that the five GOP candidates want to unseat.<\/p>\n

But Graham<\/a> largely avoided the flash.<\/p>\n

He believes in abortion rights, supports gay marriage, he\u2019s unsure of Donald Trump, he\u2019s concerned with connecting \u201cMuslims\u201d to recent terror attacks and he thinks there is \u201cvalue\u201d in holding hearings to confirm Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland.<\/p>\n

In fact, Graham was a Democrat until a year-and-a-half ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of a sudden it became relevant. \u2026 I started to pay attention to what was going on in the world, so it was obvious to me that I needed to make a change,\u201d Graham said of his affiliation switch.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can have a real impact on what\u2019s going on in Washington, D.C., both from a leadership perspective, as well as from influencing some of the critical public policy issues that are shaping us.\u201d<\/p>\n

His more moderate stance has won him the support of Durango state Sen. Ellen Roberts, a Republican, who believes Graham is the best candidate to take on Bennet.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is thoughtful. His business experience will be very helpful. He\u2019s also dealt with bureaucratic messes, \u2026 and most important, I think he can win the race,\u201d Roberts said.<\/p>\n

Behind the scenes, Democratic leaders and Bennet\u2019s campaign have been worried about a Graham victory, though he would need to survive a difficult primary that has pandered to voters who lean more to the right.<\/p>\n

While the run represents Graham\u2019s first foray into politics, it\u2019s not his first brush with bureaucracy. As the CSU athletic director, Graham was charged with turning around programs that had been plagued by student behavioral issues.<\/p>\n

Under Graham\u2019s leadership, every student athlete became academically eligible, for what is believed to be the first time in NCAA history.<\/p>\n

But he held the job for less than three years before being let go by the university after concerns were raised over his handling of a then-proposed on-campus football stadium.<\/p>\n

Regardless, Graham believes his background is appropriate for Congress. He knows what it takes to train and face opponents, as he was drafted in 1975 by the NFL\u2019s Miami Dolphins, though he never made the roster and bounced around the league.<\/p>\n

From there, Graham started his lucrative business career in the re-insurance industry.<\/p>\n

After injecting his campaign with $1 million of his own money \u2013 which has been supplemented recently with another $500,000 self-investment and at least $335,235 in contributions \u2013 Graham hired Dick Wadhams to manage his campaign.<\/p>\n

Wadhams is the former chairman of the Colorado Republican Party, with deep roots and lots of respect. He helped guide U.S. Sen. John Thune to an upset victory over then-Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle in South Dakota in 2004. Wadhams also helped Wayne Allard from Colorado into the U.S. Senate in 1996.<\/p>\n

Wadhams was instrumental in Graham being the first to petition onto the June 28 ballot, despite his late arrival into the race. Candidates petitioning onto the ballot must collect valid signatures from each of the state\u2019s seven congressional districts.<\/p>\n

By being first, Graham gave himself a significant advantage. A voter can offer a signature for only one candidate, which means that signatures used by Graham couldn\u2019t be used by three other candidates petitioning onto the ballot.<\/p>\n

Those three candidates faced major hurdles when the secretary of state\u2019s office deemed their signatures insufficient. All three candidates had to take their cases to court. They prevailed, but not before spending valuable resources.<\/p>\n

Wadhams said the petition process is emblematic of why Graham is the right fit, stating, \u201cIt\u2019s an indicator of why Jack would be the strongest candidate in the general election.\u201d<\/p>\n

pmarcus@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Jack Graham<\/h4>\n

AGE: 63
\n RESIDENCE: Fort Collins.
\n EDUCATION: Bachelor\u2019s degree in history from Colorado State University.
\n POLITICAL BACKGROUND: None.
\n OCCUPATION: Former CSU athletic director; former re-insurance executive.
\n FAMILY: Wife, Ginger; three children, plus grandchildren.
\n TOP ENDORSEMENTS: Has not solicited endorsements but has support of Sen. Ellen Roberts.
\n FUNDING: Has invested $1.5 million of own money; at least $335,235 in contributions.
\n PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE: Wanted Scott Walker; supported Donald Trump but has walked that back: \u201cI want to see different, and I want to see better from him.\u201d
\n ON SUPREME COURT NOMINEE MERRICK GARLAND: \u201cI do think there\u2019s value in holding the hearings.\u201d
\n ON DEMOCRATIC U.S. SEN. MICHAEL BENNET: \u201cHis willingness to support the Iran nuclear agreement is completely unacceptable, and from a personal perspective, that was the tipping point for me.\u201d
\n ON PRIMARY OPPONENTS: \u201cI have a lot of respect for the other four guys \u2026 we do share common views on how our government should be run, but there are some real differences.\u201d
\n BIGGEST ISSUE: National debt and the economy: \u201cThe $19 trillion of debt that we are facing as a country represents the greatest risk to the American way of life perhaps in our history.\u201d
\n ON RURAL COLORADO: \u201cThe whole subject of our energy policy is having a real impact on the Eastern Plains as well as the Western Slope.\u201d
\n ON MARIJUANA: \u201cThe people of the state of Colorado have spoken up and spoken out. There\u2019s a \u2018grass-roots\u2019 movement across the country.\u201d
\n ON GUN CONTROL: \u201cI do believe deeply that the Second Amendment and our right to bear arms is part of the fabric of being an American.\u201d
\n ON ABORTION: \u201cI believe in a woman\u2019s right to choose.\u201d
\n IMMIGRATION: \u201cWe have to start with the fact that we must secure our borders.\u201d
\n ON HEALTH CARE REFORM: \u201cThere needs to be a repeal and replacement of Obamacare. \u2026 We should be in a position that the private marketplace delivers those solutions.\u201d
\n ON RAISING THE FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE: \u201cThis is a state issue, and if the people of the state of Colorado decide there should be a different minimum wage \u2026 then the people of Colorado can make that decision.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

How to vote<\/h4>\n

Ballots were mailed last week to those affiliated with a party. Unaffiliated voters can affiliate with a party anytime through primary election day on June 28. However, if they wish to receive a mailed ballot, they must affiliate by Monday.
\n Completed ballots must be received by 7 p.m. June 28, and they can be returned by mail or dropped off at 24-hour drop boxes at:
\n La Plata County Clerk & Recorder, 98 Everett St., Suite C, Durango.
\n Bayfield Town Hall, 1199 Bayfield Parkway, Bayfield.
\n La Plata County Administration Building, 1101 East Second Ave., Durango.
\n For additional information about the ballot, places to vote in person or drop off ballots during limited hours, visit
\n http:\/\/bit.ly\/1sxSqz6
\n .
\n The Herald\u2019s election coverage continues this week with stories on all GOP U.S. Senate candidates, and the Republican races in the 3rd Congressional District and State Board of Education. Coverage of
\n last week\u2019s debate
\n between the Democratic candidates in the district attorney contest can be found at durangoherald.com.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Democrat, first to make ballot, avoids flash<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":104559,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5736,5735],"tags":[266,13,70,265,2972,25,1566],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-104558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-news","tag-election","tag-frontpage-lead","tag-news-lead","tag-politics","tag-primary","tag-u-s-sen-michael-bennet","tag-u-s-senate"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104558","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104558"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104558\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104558"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=104558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}