AURORA | U.S. Rep. Jason Crow has easily won a fourth term in office, beating Republican former ICE administrator John Fabbricatore to continue representing one of the nation’s most diverse congressional districts..
As of Wednesday, Crow, a Democrat, had 60% of the vote compared to Republican Fabbricatore’s 39%.
“Our country faces tough challenges ahead,” Crow said in his re-election statement. “I look forward to working tirelessly to lower costs, secure our democracy, strengthen our alliances, defend human rights, protect fundamental freedoms, and so much more.”
This year’s race in Colorado’s 6th Congressional District focused largely on the issue that has dominated the news in Aurora, its largest city: Immigration.
US House Rep 6th Congressional District
| US House Rep 6th Congressional Dist | Arapahoe County | Douglas County | Adams County | TOTAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D-Jason Crow | 134,638 | 1,728 | 7,053 | 143419 | |
| R-John Fabbricatore | 83,472 | 1,581 | 2,923 | 87976 | |
Fabrricatore, a native New Yorker who used to lead the Immigration and Customs Enforcement regional field office in Colorado, has been among the loudest voices this election season warning about the presence of a Venezuelan prison gang called Tren de Aragua, also known as TdA in the city. He has echoed fear mongering about undocumented immigrants by right-wing Aurora Councilmember Danielle Jurinski. Those claims became a favorite talking point of former President Donald Trump who pledged an “Operation Aurora” to forcibly root out and deport undocumented immigrants not just from the district, but from all over the United States.
False narratives about Venezuelans in Aurora have left many in that community feeling threatened physically and fearful of losing their jobs.
Crow spent much of the election season defending the migrants and has assigned ten staffers in his Aurora office working as caseworkers to help them and other asylum seekers navigate the immigration system as well as find housing, jobs and services.
“They want no handout, nothing given to them, and they came from horrible conditions. They’re scared. Afraid for their kids, their safety, just trying to provide for their families,” he said.
About 15,000 of the 40,000 Venezuelans who have migrated to Colorado live in Crow’s district. He has been campaigning for Kamala Harris and Democrat congressional candidates in hopes, among other things, of reinvigorating a deal that would allow the federal government to hire more border control officers, add more technology to secure the southern border and address a backlog of asylum seekers.
In an interview early Tuesday, Crow called the distinct’s diversity “a source of tremendous pride and strength that can be a national model” for coexistence. If re-elected, he said he has “an obligation to tell that story and counteract the narrative” that Republicans like Trump and Jurinsky have falsely spun claiming Venezuelan gang members have overrun Aurora.
The former Army Ranger and Bronze Star recipient serves on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Although acknowledges the stress and uncertainty of the presidential election, he wants to remind Coloradans that it is a sign of American democracy “not to know who’s gonna win.”
“It’s really a remarkably unique thing because in most of the world it’s a fixed game,” he said.
Crow famously protected some of his congressional colleagues during the pro-Trump siege of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He is leery of what might happen this year after Trump supporters “have been told that if they lose it’s because of election fraud and cheating” and may resort once again to violence.
“Appealing to people’s better nature, and lowering the temperature in the room will be very important,” he said. “I expect I’ll be spending a lot of time in the next few weeks doing just that.”
Fabbricatore, for his part, said, “I got decimated” Tuesday evening.
“I’m just a blip,” he added of his 39%. “I did what I could with the money I had without lot of support from the party — almost none.”
Fabricatore noted he had searched for a venue to host his election-night watch party, only to be turned down by several bars and restaurants for fears “about the kind of crowd I might bring in.”
“It’s unfortunate that businesses feel that people will come against them if there’s a Trump party at their place,” he said.
He ended up holding the watch party at JJ’s Place, an Aurora sports bar owned by Jurinsky.