{"id":40293,"date":"2022-06-01T18:43:41","date_gmt":"2022-06-02T00:43:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/6-big-areas-where-the-two-republicans-running-for-u-s-senate-in-colorado-disagree\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T02:54:34","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:54:34","slug":"6-big-areas-where-the-two-republicans-running-for-u-s-senate-in-colorado-disagree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/6-big-areas-where-the-two-republicans-running-for-u-s-senate-in-colorado-disagree\/","title":{"rendered":"6 big areas where the two Republicans running for U.S. Senate in Colorado disagree"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Republican
Republican U.S. Senate candidates Joe O\u2019Dea, left, and Ron Hanks. (Colorado Sun photos)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

State Rep. Ron Hanks and Joe O\u2019Dea, a first-time candidate who owns a Denver construction company, are the two Republicans running in the June 28 primary for a chance to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet in November.<\/p>\n

The candidates have very different opinions on some key issues, including abortion, climate change and what Republicans\u2019 strategy should be to beat Bennet.<\/p>\n

The Colorado Sun spoke to the candidates, attended candidates forums and combed the public record to find six critical areas where Hanks and O\u2019Dea are split.<\/p>\n

Abortion<\/div>\n

With the U.S. Supreme Court poised in the coming weeks to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision protecting the right to an abortion without excessive government restriction, abortion is set to be a central issue in the midterm elections.<\/p>\n

Hanks and O\u2019Dea have very different stances on the topic.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t support a total ban,\u201d O\u2019Dea said at a recent debate. \u201cThe country is not 100% pro-life. The country is not 100% pro-choice.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Dea has said he doesn\u2019t want to see Roe v. Wade overturned and that he would support federal legislation codifying the precedent with some limits.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would vote for a bill that protects a woman\u2019s right to choose early in the pregnancy,\u201d he told conservative talk radio host Dan Caplis last month. \u201cI would also protect that right in cases of rape, incest and medical necessities.\u201d<\/p>\n

He opposes \u201clate-term abortions,\u201d but hasn\u2019t defined exactly what late term means except to say that he thinks abortions shouldn\u2019t be allowed in the third trimester \u2013 or last three months \u2013 of a pregnancy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do not support taxpayer funding for abortion,\u201d O\u2019Dea said. \u201cI believe in parental notification requirements for minors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hanks, meanwhile, says all abortions should be banned, regardless of whether the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest or the mother\u2019s life is at risk.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe life starts at conception,\u201d he said. \u201cThere should not be any exceptions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The outcome of the 2020 election<\/div>\n

Hanks is among the loudest deniers of the 2020 presidential election results in Colorado, aligning himself with indicted Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who is running to be Colorado\u2019s secretary of state, and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, one of the nation\u2019s most high profile election deniers.<\/p>\n

Hanks, who baselessly believes that President Donald Trump won the contest, attended the rally on Jan. 6, 2021 in Washington that preceded the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrump won this,\u201d Hanks said at a candidate forum a few months ago.<\/p>\n

Hanks sponsored a bill in the Colorado legislature this year that would have overhauled the state\u2019s election system, including by:<\/p>\n

Eliminating voting by mail, except for certain absentee voters.Requiring that voting take place on Election Day.Requiring voters to have a state-issued ID to receive a ballot.Requiring that ballots be counted by hand and for election results to be provided within 24 hours of polls closing.<\/div>\n

O\u2019Dea, meanwhile, rejects claims that the 2020 election was really won by Trump.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t believe the election was stolen,\u201d he said at the same candidate forum.<\/p>\n

Ukraine and Russian President Vladimir Putin<\/div>\n

Another notable area where Hanks and O\u2019Dea differ is on the war in Ukraine and Russian President Vladamir Putin.<\/p>\n

Hanks, a military veteran, said Putin \u201cdoes not need to take the beating and the embarrassment that this regime is putting him through.\u201d The \u201cregime\u201d he was apparently referring to was the Biden administration.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt some point he can extract great pain against the United States \u2013 whether it\u2019s a cyberattack, whether it\u2019s blocking shipping lanes,\u201d Hanks said. \u201cActually, (Putin\u2019s) options are quite unlimited.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hanks said he thinks that Sweden and Finland should not be allowed to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also known as NATO, right now because it may further upset Putin. Allowing the two countries to join later on would be better, Hanks said.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Dea called Putin a \u201cpunk\u201d and said the U.S. shouldn\u2019t \u201cback down\u201d from him, though he agreed with Hanks that American troops shouldn\u2019t be sent to Ukraine right now.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would support Sweden and Finland in NATO as long as they pay their fair share,\u201d O\u2019Dea said. \u201cFor far too long we\u2019ve had a lot of these NATO members that have shortchanged us. I think Trump did a good job saying, \u2018You know what, it\u2019s time for you guys to pay your fair share.\u2019\u201c<\/p>\n

Climate change<\/div>\n

Hanks has suggested that climate change isn\u2019t real.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to sit here and pretend climate change is a real issue,\u201d he said at a candidate forum. \u201cIt\u2019s called weather. And they have used it as a lever to control policy and to control conversation, and we\u2019ve got to push back.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Dea said in a written statement that \u201cthe climate is getting warmer and humans contribute to that in some way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut where Biden and Democrats get it wrong is with their top-down government mandates,\u201d he said. \u201cWe must foster innovation and embrace an all-of-the-above energy policy that encourages natural gas production, solar and wind technologies, small, modular nuclear reactors, geothermal and hydropower. Begging despots and dictators for their oil, like Bennet and Biden want to do, is a losing energy policy when we have the resources to be energy independent here at home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who should lead the Senate Republican caucus?<\/div>\n

O\u2019Dea hasn\u2019t ruled out backing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, to continue leading the Senate Republican caucus.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would depend on who (McConnell\u2019s) running against,\u201d O\u2019Dea said.<\/p>\n

Hanks said he would not support McConnell.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe called everyone that went to Jan. 6 an insurrectionist, as did Michael Bennet,\u201d Hanks said. \u201cI\u2019ve got no respect for him. Those were peaceful Americans that were concerned about their country.\u201d<\/p>\n

How to win in 2022<\/div>\n

O\u2019Dea and Hanks are split on how to beat Bennet in November, which will require a significant amount of support from unaffiliated voters, who make up 45% of the state\u2019s electorate.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Dea said he plans to stick to the issues affecting Americans \u2013 namely rising consumer costs \u2013 and find middle ground where possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to run this campaign against inflation, crime and $4 gas,\u201d he said, \u201cnot social issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hanks thinks Republicans need to be more unyielding in their conservatism to win in Colorado.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the Republican Party has lost its way and is not firm enough in its conviction,\u201d he said. \u201cI firmly believe if we have convictions and we tell people our beliefs and convince them we are going to stand by them they are going to come back to the party.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more at The Colorado Sun<\/div>\n

The Colorado Sun is a reader-supported, nonpartisan news organization dedicated to covering Colorado issues. To learn more, go to coloradosun.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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