{"id":37401,"date":"2022-11-09T01:26:21","date_gmt":"2022-11-09T08:26:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/jared-polis-easily-beats-heidi-ganahl-to-secure-second-term-as-colorados-governor\/"},"modified":"2022-11-09T08:26:21","modified_gmt":"2022-11-09T08:26:21","slug":"jared-polis-easily-beats-heidi-ganahl-to-secure-second-term-as-colorados-governor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/jared-polis-easily-beats-heidi-ganahl-to-secure-second-term-as-colorados-governor\/","title":{"rendered":"Jared Polis easily beats Heidi Ganahl to secure second term as Colorado\u2019s governor"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Gov.
Gov. Jared Polis, with Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera, speaks to the crowd after winning the election, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, at the Art Hotel in Denver. (Hugh Carey\/The Colorado Sun)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Colorado voters overwhelmingly reelected Democratic Gov. Jared Polis on Tuesday, endorsing his job performance over the past four years and soundly rejecting claims by his Republican opponent, University of Colorado Regent Heidi Ganahl, that Polis had led the state wildly astray.<\/p>\n

Polis was leading Ganahl with 61% of the vote to her 37% at 8 p.m., when The Associated Press called the race an hour after the polls closed. NBC News and Fox called the race for Polis even earlier. Wednesday morning, Polis led with 57.58% of the vote to Ganahl\u2019s 40.33%<\/p>\n

In La Plata County, Polis won 61.62% to 36.19%. In Montezuma County, Ganahl defeated Polis 54.29% to 41.64%.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been the honor of my life to serve as your governor for the last four years and it will be an honor to continue to serve as your governor,\u201d Polis said in a victory speech in downtown Denver. \u201cI will never stop fighting for the future and the state that we love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ganahl did not speak at the Colorado GOP\u2019s watch party after the race had been called in Polis\u2019 favor.<\/p>\n

Ganahl, who before entering politics started and sold a doggy day care chain, never kept up with Polis\u2019 fundraising juggernaut. She raised about $4.1 million during her campaign, nearly half of which was self-funding.<\/p>\n

\"Republican
Republican candidate for governor Heidi Ganahl speaks during the GOP assembly at the Broadmoor World Arena on April 9 in Colorado Springs. (Hugh Carey, The Colorado Sun, file)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Unlike Polis, she faced a primary, and had to spend heavily to win that race \u2013 in part because Democrats propped up her opponent, former Parker Mayor Greg Lopez \u2013 before entering the general election contest low on cash. Ganahl then received little to no national aid in her bid to unseat Polis, and a group funded by Weld County rancher and oil gas booster Steve Wells that committed $11 million to help her candidacy stopped spending after it had allocated only about $3 million.<\/p>\n

But campaign cash wasn\u2019t Ganahl\u2019s only problem. Her candidacy never really gained traction, as evidenced by the results of an internal poll she shared on Twitter about two weeks before Election Day showing her trailing Polis by 8 percentage points. She celebrated the large margin, saying it was small enough to close by Election Day.<\/p>\n

There were political stumbles for Ganahl, the only statewide elected Republican currently in office, from the start.<\/p>\n

On the day she announced her candidacy in September 2021, Ganahl faced criticism for refusing to answer questions from The Colorado Sun and other news outlets about whether the results of the 2020 presidential election were legitimate. After she finally admitted that she had seen no fraud that would have overturned the outcome of the contest, she chose a running mate, Danny Moore, who posted on Facebook that President Joe Biden won in 2020 because of the \u201cDemocrat steal.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the final days of her campaign, Ganahl then appeared on podcasts hosted by election conspiracy theorists, was endorsed by indicted Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters and sent a letter to Colorado\u2019s county clerks asking them to report on election night the total number of ballots they\u2019ve counted and how many remain to be counted before stopping tabulation until Wednesday. Clerks can only estimate how many ballots are left to count and aren\u2019t required to report that information, though they traditionally do so when requested.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Ganahl\u2019s biggest policy proposals \u2013 eliminating Colorado\u2019s income tax, cutting the state\u2019s 22-cent-per-gallon gas tax in half, and a transportation plan hinging on voters approving the conversion of fees into taxes \u2013 drew lots of skepticism.<\/p>\n

The Ganahl campaign\u2019s unforced errors and fights with the media \u2013 \u201cDon\u2019t believe the polls. The media puts out fake polls. They want to suppress the vote,\u201d she said at her final campaign rally Monday night \u2013 often shifted the conversation away from her criticism of Polis over kids\u2019 mental health, inflation and crime, including car thefts and drug overdoses.<\/p>\n

\u201cColorado is headed in the wrong direction,\u201d Ganahl said during her first debate with Polis in Pueblo. \u201cIn the last four years Colorado has become one of the most dangerous states in the country to work, live and raise a family.\u201d<\/p>\n

The incumbent governor didn\u2019t spend much of his campaign war chest attacking Ganahl in ads. Instead, he focused on promoting a message centered on his work to expand preschool and kindergarten access and limit health care costs, as well as questionable claims about saving people money.<\/p>\n

But, a state-level super PAC aligned with Democrats, called Strong Colorado for All, spent $5.4 million on TV and digital ads attacking Ganahl on abortion access and other issues. Everytown for Gun Safety spent another $508,000 on anti-Ganahl ads.<\/p>\n

Polis said during his final debate with Ganahl that while she was a \u201cmad mom,\u201d he was a \u201chappy dad.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cColoradans have the opportunity to choose either an out-of-touch, extreme candidate for governor, who\u2019s dead set on taking Colorado backward, or we can choose a problem solver,\u201d the governor said at the++ debate in Grand Junction. \u201cI believe in taking the best ideas from the left, the right, the middle \u2013 from everywhere \u2013 to move Colorado forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bailey Johnson, a 25-year-old Democrat casting her ballot Tuesday in Denver, was excited to vote for Polis, the nation\u2019s first openly gay governor. She said she especially likes his stance on same-sex marriage.<\/p>\n

Keleb Parker, a 31-year-old from Westminster who is an unaffiliated voter, also cast a vote for Polis. He said he\u2019s lived in Colorado for two years and he\u2019s \u201cliked what he\u2019s done,\u201d referring to Polis.<\/p>\n

While there has been much speculation about Polis running for president \u2013 possibly as soon as 2024 \u2013 he has denied interest in the White House and said he wants to return to private life after his second and final term as governor, which will end in January 2027.<\/p>\n

This is a developing story that will be updated.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Colorado Sun staff writers Tatiana Flowers and Delaney Nelson contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Jared
Jared Polis Heidi Ganahl<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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