AURORA | Just one local Republican signed onto a pledge last week saying they “fully support” Donald Trump this fall, a sign of the tricky spot local leaders find themselves in when it comes to the embattled GOP nominee.
Other local Republicans are walking a tough political tight rope when it comes to Trump, with some saying they can’t back Trump or Hillary Clinton, and others flat out refusing to say where they stand when it comes to the bombastic New York businessman.
Rep. Joann Windholz, whose House District 30 includes parts of Commerce City and Aurora, joined 18 other state lawmakers in signing the statement backing Trump.
“As an elected official and Republican leader I fully support the Republican nominee for president, Donald J Trump. Mr. Trump presents a unique opportunity for America to move in a decidedly different direction. With the Supreme Court at risk, this is the time for those in leadership to stand strong and unified,” the statement she signed stated.
Windholz — who was the target of a murmured recall effort following comments she made in late 2015 about Planned Parenthood being responsible for a deadly shooting at one of its clinics in Colorado Springs — is one of four Republican state lawmakers who represent districts covering part of Aurora. She did not return a request for comment.
Other Aurora-area Republicans, State Sen. Jack Tate of Centennial, and state representatives Kevin Priola, of Brighton, and Cole Wist, of Centennial, did not appear on the list.
That trio of elected Republican legislators join a list of local Republicans — as well as the party’s leadership at the State Capitol — who are struggling with how to embrace their party’s nominee.
Tate and Wist have previously said they expect to back their party’s nominee. In candidate questionnaires sent out by The Aurora Sentinel last month, Tate said he would “be voting for my party’s nominee.” Wist cited potential Supreme Court nominees as his reason for “voting for Donald Trump.”
Still, a Trump campaign spokesman said they asked Tate, Priola and Wist to sign the statement.
“All incumbent Republican state representatives and senators were asked to sign onto the statement of support for Mr. Trump,” said Patrick Davis, a senior advisor for Trump’s Colorado campaign.
None of the trio returned repeated requests for comment about why they chose not to sign.
Several congressional Republicans, including House Speaker Paul Ryan and Aurora Congressman Mike Coffman, said they would not support the GOP nominee after a video surfaced in early October of Trump bragging about sexually assaulting women. Coffman has asked that Trump step down.
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Other local Republicans have been cagey about their stance regarding the biggest race in this fall’s election.
Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan declined to say whether he was backing Trump.
“The secret ballot is as much a cornerstone of American democracy as is freedom of the press, and last time I checked, officials and office holders of both parties still enjoy the right of a secret ballot,” Hogan said.
Hogan, a Republican elected in a nonpartisan mayoral race, went on to say he didn’t think it was newsworthy to ask elected officials who they were voting for so close to the election.
“That just doesn’t feel like reporting news to me. It feels like making news. Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but it doesn’t feel right,” he said.
Hogan hasn’t always been leery of discussing his party’s nominee. In May, after Trump won the nomination, Hogan said he expected to back his party’s nominee this fall and that he anticipated Trump would run a better campaign than some were predicting.
“I do think Donald Trump has struck a chord with people who are tired of a lot of things, whether it’s being tired of not being listened to, or tired of seeing absolutely nothing happen in Washington, D.C., or tired of what they perceive to be as bad news all the time,” he said at the time.
Still, Hogan left some room at the time to change his mind, saying he planned to study both candidates in the months before the election.
Arapahoe County Commissioner Nancy Doty, who is running for state Senate in District 26, also declined to say who her pick for president will be. In a candidate questionnaire from The Aurora Sentinel last month, the former Arapahoe County Clerk and Recorder said her vote was a “private” matter.
“I consider my vote private and everyone’s vote to be a private decision,” she said.
Reached this week, her campaign said her stance hasn’t changed.
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Like most Democrats, Doty’s opponent, House District 26 Rep. Daniel Kagan, of Cherry Hills, is a staunch Trump opponent.
“My values do not align with Trump’s and I think he would be a disaster for our country,” he said.
Some local elected Republicans remain vocal supporters of their party’s candidate.
Aurora City Councilwoman Sally Mounier, who represents northwest Aurora, said she has donated twice to the Trump campaign and continues to back him.
“I’m 100 percent behind him. I wish the mainstream media would be a little bit more journalistic and fair rather than beating him on the top of the head,” she said.
Another Republican on council, Councilwoman Barb Cleland, was on the opposite end.
“I’m not voting for Mr. Trump,” she said. “I’m not real sure who I’m going to vote for … I may vote and I may not vote for president; I cant vote for Mr. Trump.”
Cleland said she soured on her party’s nominee when he made comments saying Sen. John McCain was not a war hero.
Similarly, Aurora Councilman Bob LeGare, who is running for a seat on the Arapahoe County Board of Commissioners, said he isn’t sure whom he will vote for in the presidential race, but he doesn’t like Trump nor Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
LeGare said he is considering not casting a vote for president, but he isn’t especially confident in that choice, either.
“I don’t know that is the best decision,” he said. “One could argue if you don’t vote for someone, you’re giving your vote to someone else.”