The U.S. Senate re-election campign pitting incumbent Democrat Mark Udall against Republican challenger Congressman Cory Gardner is the most prominent example of how, from Alaska to Florida, reproductive rights have taken center stage in Democratic campaigns. It’s a stark shift from the days when abortion issues were often used to rally the party’s base, but rarely discussed in front of those who might end up voting for either candidate.
[srp display_thumbnail=”no” widget_title=”Recent Secretary of State Race News” widget_title_hide=”no” post_limit=”5″ post_content_type=”excerpt” post_content_mode=”titleonly” post_date=”no” post_author_url=”no” category_title=”no” post_category_link=”yes” category_include=”15105″]
[wc_accordion collapse=”1″ leaveopen=”0″ layout=”box”] [wc_accordion_section title=”About the Race“]
Women’s rights focus of US Senate race
By NICHOLAS RICCARDI, Associated Press
When U.S. Sen. Mark Udall aired the first television ad of his re-election campaign in April, the spot did not list his accomplishments, or otherwise argue why voters should send him back to Washington for a second term representing Colorado. Instead, it went after his challenger, Republican Rep. Cory Gardner, on his opposition to abortion rights.
Six months later, Udall and his allies are still filling the airwaves with ads hammering Gardner on abortion, hoping to use the issue — once thought by Democrats to be a wash politically — to win this swing state for the third consecutive election cycle.
It’s the most prominent example of how, from Alaska to Florida, reproductive rights have taken center stage in Democratic campaigns, a stark shift from the days when abortion issues were often used to rally the party’s base, but rarely discussed in front of those who might end up voting for either candidate.
The shift comes after the Republican wave of 2010 put the GOP in the majority in the U.S. House and inspired 39 states last year to pass laws restricting access to abortion. It also comes amid the rise of “personhood” proposals in some states that would grant legal rights to a fertilized egg, which could outlaw almost all abortions and, even more explosively, some forms of birth control.
Many abortion opponents say they do not intend to target birth control. But the very mention of contraception in the abortion debate has become volatile, said Laura Chapin, a Democratic strategist in Colorado.
“If Republicans had stuck to abortion, the argument would not have changed,” Chapin said, “but when they got taken over by the religious right and went after something we use on a daily basis, the dynamics changed.”
In no state has the issue of reproductive rights dominated the debate as in Colorado. Democrats pioneered the strategy in 2010, when Sen. Michael Bennet eked out a narrow victory after attacking his Republican challenger as anti-women and anti-abortion rights. Obama’s re-election campaign emphasized reproductive rights in Colorado in 2012. He won the state handily.
In some deeply religious states like Louisiana and Arkansas, Democratic Senate candidates rarely discuss reproductive rights. But Colorado was the first state to decriminalize abortion in the pre-Roe v. Wade days, and about 100,000 pro-abortion rights women who live in the Denver suburbs routinely decide elections in the state.
In Colorado, Gardner is trying to confront the Democrats’ push.
“Mark Udall has failed on energy, on the economy. He’s failed on health care, so of course he wants to talk about something else,” Gardner said in a brief interview last week.
Gardner kicked off his campaign by disavowing a state personhood measure that he previously backed, saying he did not want to ban birth control — though Democrats note he remains a co-sponsor of a similar federal measure in Congress. He proposed allowing birth control pills to be sold over the counter — and Democrats hit back, noting that would raise the cost to most consumers. GOP operative Karl Rove’s group Crossroads GPS recently ran an ad featuring four frustrated-sounding middle-aged women saying, “We aren’t single-issue voters” before slamming Udall for supporting Obama. In a new ad his campaign released this week, Gardner said Udall “won’t talk about anything else.”
Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL, suggested in an interview that Republicans are foolish to dismiss reproductive rights as a “single issue.”
“This isn’t about abortion at all,” Hogue said. “It’s about a worldview on women’s rights that people think is superseded by a fertilized egg.”
Katy Atkinson, a GOP consultant in Denver who has pushed for her party to broaden its appeal to female voters, said she thinks Udall has erred by relentlessly emphasizing the issue. The race has remained largely deadlocked in public polling since the senator’s attacks began in April. “It doesn’t resonate with the public the way it once did,” Atkinson said.
That’s certainly true for Stephanie Greenberg, 30, an independent voter in the swing suburb of Centennial who supports abortion rights but is tired of hearing arguments about birth control.
“They’re harping on birth control and women’s rights too much,” she said.
[/wc_accordion_section] [wc_accordion_section title=”Mark Udall Bio“]
FROM MARK UDALL SENATE CAMPAIGN:
The people of Colorado elected Mark Udall to the U.S. Senate in 2008. Prior to that, he represented the state’s 2nd Congressional District for five terms (from 1999-08). He also served one term in the Colorado State Legislature as a member of the General Assembly (1997-99), representing the 13th District, which encompassed the community of Longmont and parts of southern Boulder County.
In the U.S. Senate, Mark serves on three committees: Armed Services, Energy and Natural Resources, and the Select Committee on Intelligence. Reinforcing his priority of protecting our Western lands, Mark chairs the National Parks Subcommittee of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. He is also proud to serve as the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces. In that role, Mark has oversight responsibility for all U.S. military space, intelligence and cyberdefense efforts, and our ballistic missile defense and nuclear weapons programs. Mark’s committee assignments give him a platform to address many issues important to Colorado, including national security, energy, the economy, clean energy jobs, and natural resources.
Mark is known for reaching across party lines to solve problems and for his willingness to work with people, including those with whom he has philosophical differences. In 2011, he drew national attention for calling on his colleagues to bridge the partisan divide by sitting together – rather than separated by party – at the President’s State of the Union address. Mark’s inclusive and bipartisan approach has also led to a number of legislative achievements, including bills to reduce wildfire risk and bark-beetle infestation; and legislation promoting the development of Colorado’s aerospace industry, and the clean energy and high technology sectors. Mark led efforts to successfully create the James Peak Wilderness and to pass legislation transforming the Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons facility into a wildlife refuge. He’s also championed health care for workers and retirees from the nation’s nuclear weapons complex and consumer protections against abusive and predatory credit card companies.
Mark doesn’t shy away from making difficult decisions in order to put our country’s fiscal house in order. He is an active proponent of smart budgeting tools like pay-as-you-go rules, a presidential line-item veto, a balanced budget amendment, and a ban on earmarks. Mark was one of a small group of senators who pushed for the creation of the president’s commission on reducing the national debt, and he now is helping lead the effort to hold an up-or-down vote on the commission’s recommendations.
Regarded as a national leader on renewable energy, Mark worked to put Colorado at the forefront of sustainable energy development. In 2004, he successfully co-chaired the Amendment 37 campaign to pass Colorado’s first Renewable Electricity Standard (RES), which requires power companies to use more alternative energy sources. In 2007, the House of Representatives twice passed a national renewable electricity standard championed by Mark. He continues his work in the Senate to enact a national RES.
Finally, Mark is also known for his efforts to develop a tough and smart national security strategy. He has led legislative action to strengthen the U.S military, improve national security and protect our service members by reducing the military’s reliance on fossil fuels. Moreover, he has consistently fought for programs to benefit our nation’s veterans, including extending TRICARE benefits to military children and fighting to improve access to health care in rural Colorado.
Mark has received numerous accolades in the media. The Denver Post notes that he has a proven track record of bipartisan accomplishments. The Pueblo Chieftain expresses its appreciation for Mark’s stand for fiscal responsibility, writing, “At last, one Democrat in Congress is standing up for his country rather than his party’s liberal base.” Similarly, The Colorado Springs Gazette notes that in these difficult economic times, “It is comforting to know that Colorado, at least, has a senator who is willing to avoid the partisan game playing that usually defines Washington.” The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel calls him “conscientious,” “highly capable” and “energetic.” Al Lewis of the Dow Jones Newswires applauds Mark and his willingness to tackle America’s most difficult challenges alongside members of both parties.
Mark was born on July 18, 1950, in Tucson, Arizona, but has spent his entire adult life in Colorado. After graduating from Williams College in 1972, he moved to Colorado’s Western Slope and began a long and successful career with the Colorado Outward Bound School as a course director and educator from 1975-85 and as the organization’s executive director from 1985-95. Mark is an avid mountaineer and has climbed or attempted some of the world’s most challenging peaks, including Mt. Everest.
Mark’s family is no stranger to public service. His father, Morris “Mo” Udall, served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 30 years and ran for the Democratic nomination for President in 1976. His uncle, Stewart, was widely revered for his accomplishments while serving as Secretary of the Interior under U.S. Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. In 2008, Mark’s cousin, Tom Udall, was elected to the Senate from New Mexico.
Mark and his wife, prominent attorney and conservationist Maggie Fox, have two children: a son Jed and a daughter Tess. They live near Eldorado Springs in Boulder County.
[/wc_accordion_section] [wc_accordion_section title=”Cory Gardner Bio“]
FROM CORY GARDNER FOR SENATE CAMPAIGN:
Cory Gardner is a fifth-generation Coloradan focused on empowering people by getting government out of the way and letting innovation and creativity thrive. He believes in common sense reforms and making government more accountable to the taxpayer.
Cory was born and raised in Yuma, a small town on the Eastern Plains of Colorado where his family has owned a farm implement dealership for nearly a century. He lives in the same house his great-grandparents lived in. Growing up in Yuma, Cory learned the values of hard work and the benefits of a tight-knit community with a desire to get things done. He is a principled leader who is not afraid to work across the aisle for solutions that move this country forward.
Cory was elected to the House of Representatives in 2010. As a member of the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee, Cory has championed a true all-of-the-above energy strategy that maximizes domestic production and reduces our dependence on foreign imports. While he supports responsible development of Colorado’s abundant natural resources, Cory has also promoted renewable energy technology and is a national leader on energy efficiency initiatives.
Cory’s first action when elected to the House was cosponsoring a bipartisan balanced budget amendment. Our national debt has climbed above $17 trillion and Cory has fought to reduce it by examining waste, fraud, and abuse in all sectors of government. He is committed to restoring respect for Congress and making Washington work for the people again.
Cory graduated summa cum laude from Colorado State University and received his law degree from the University of Colorado Boulder. He lives in Yuma with his wife Jaime and their two children: 10-year old Alyson and 2-year old Thatcher.
[/wc_accordion_section] [wc_accordion_section title=”Mark Udall Bio Finance“]
Mark Udall campaign expenditures and contributions via the FEC
[/wc_accordion_section] [wc_accordion_section title=”Cory Gardner Finance“]
Cory Gardner campaign expenditures and contributions via the FEC
[/wc_accordion_section] [wc_accordion_section title=”Mark Udall Bio Endorsements“]
Coming soon
[/wc_accordion_section] [wc_accordion_section title=”Cory Gardner Endorsements“]
Coming soon
[/wc_accordion_section] [/wc_accordion]