Foothills Republicans Commentary: Will the House Change Control?

We already know there will be a new Speaker of the House in January 2019, but will it be a Democrat or Republican? More than a hundred Foothills Republicans considered the issue after a social hour and BBQ with comments by Dick Wadhams (member of the Club) and Floyd Ciruli.

Although Democrats have the advantage, it was believed Congresspersons Scott Tipton and Mike Coffman would be hard to defeat without a very blue wave.

Coffman may be the nation’s master politician in winning ticket-splitting voters. Hillary Clinton won the 6th CD by 34,000 votes in 2016 while winning the state by 5 percentage points. But Coffman was reelected by 31,000 votes. More than 30,000 people in the district voted for Clinton for president and Coffman for Congress.

Scott Tipton has become the 3rd CD’s most effective vote gatherer. While Donald Trump was winning by 44,000 votes, Tipton carried the state’s largest district with 53,000. The additional 9,000 votes were mostly from Pueblo, which was one of the state’s most dependable Democratic counties. No more, it recalled a Democratic State Senator in 2013 and gave Trump a 600-vote victory in 2016. That could not of happened without a host of Democratic and Hispanic voters supporting Trump and Tipton.

This will be a challenging election for Republican congresspersons. Midterms are usually a referendum on the presidential party, and Trump has not expanded his base. Coffman, in particular, will have to run a smart campaign. But the Foothills Republicans felt it will take a tsunami to swamp Coffman and Tipton.

Dick Wadhams, Brian Cassidy and Floyd Ciruli at the Foothills
Republicans Club, Aug. 20, 2018 | Photo: Brian Cassidy Facebook post