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Colorado
Senate
| COLORADO |
Nov. 8,
2022 U.S. Senate |
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Plurality: 365,477 votes (14.62 percentage points). CO
Secretary of State
Notes: Sen. Michael Bennet (D), appointed to the Senate in 2009 and elected in 2010, won a third full term against construction company owner Joe O'Dea (R), who ran as a moderate. Also on the November ballot were Brian Peotter (L), T.J. Cole (Unity) and Frank Atwood (AVP). The race was seen as potentially winnable for O'Dea. On Aug. 18 Cook Political Report shifted its rating from "Likely D" to "Lean D." Colorado does have a high proportion of unaffiliated voters (as of Nov. 1, 2022, the state had a bit over 3.8 million active registered voters of whom 45.6% were unaffiliated, 27.8% Democratic and 24.7% Republican). O'Dea's moderate message seemed a better fit than that of the hardline Republican primary runner up Ron Hanks. National Republicans campaigned with and supported O'Dea. Sen. Tim Scott (SC) campaigned with him on Oct. 7. Former President George W. Bush held a fundraiser for O'Dea in Dallas on Oct. 17. Gov. Ron DeSantis (FL) recorded a robocall for O'Dea. O'Dea did have several notable critics. Hanks, the GOP runner up, announced on Oct. 5 that he would support the libertarian Peotter. Former President Trump was not a fan of O'Dea, describing him as a "RINO character" after O'Dea said during an Oct. 16 interview that he would "actively campaign against Donald Trump" if he sought the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Bennet and O'Dea debated at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, hosted by CMU, Colorado Public Radio and the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel on Oct. 25 (1, 2) and at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, hosted by Colorado Politics, The Gazette, 9News and televised across the state by four broadcast stations on Oct. 28 (>). O'Dea portrayed Bennet as "Biden's rubber stamp," voting with him 98% of the time, while Bennet defended his record and noted that O'Dea had voted for Trump twice. The Bennet campaign had a substantial financial advantage; it reported $21.8 million raised, $22.4 million spent and $1.1 million in cash on hand compared to $10.1 million raised, $9.6 million spent and $463,349 in cash on hand for the O'Dea campaign (>). In addition, outside groups have weighed in; according to Open Secrets, top spenders on the Democratic side were LCV Victory Fund ($7.3 million), Democratic Colorado PAC ($5.4 million), 53 Peaks PAC ($2.9 million) and Giffords PAC ($2.6 million), and on the Republican side American Policy Fund ($9.4 million) (>). June 28 Primaries Bennet was unopposed in the June 28 primary. He was a candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, but fared poorly against the crowded field of better known and better funded contenders (+). On the Republican side, a field of eight candidates (>) was winnowed down to two who appeared on the ballot: freshman state Rep. Ron Hanks and O'Dea. Hanks served in the U.S. Air Force for more 32 years before retiring in 2017. He also worked in the North Dakota oilfield. O'Dea, a first time candidate, founded and built the Denver-based Concrete Express Inc., which employs 300 workers. Hanks made the ballot at the GOP assembly in Colorado Springs in April, while O'Dea took the petition route, submitting 1,500 valid signatures from each of the state's eight congressional districts. Hanks put his advocacy of Trump's stolen election claims at the center of his campaign. He was seen by many as unelectable. Former Colorado Republican chair Dick Wadhams warned that candidates such as Hanks risk making the GOP and "impotent and irrelevant political party." Hanks' campaign raised little money. In June several Democratic groups sought to influence the primary, spending millions to paint O'Dea as a moderate and Hanks as "one of the most conservative members in the statehouse." Hanks and O'Dea debated at the Colorado Republican Rumble on May 21 (>) and on June 20, hosted by the Colorado Sun and CBS4 (>). Abortion was one of the clearest divisions between the two; Hanks would ban all abortions, while O'Dea advocated a more measured approach. O'Dea defeated Hanks by 54.44% to 45.51%. Campaign Managers: Michael Bennet: Justin Lamorte (Jan. 2021) Senior advisor on Hickenlooper for Colorado, July-Dec. 2020. Campaign manager on Dan Baer's campaign for U.S. Senate, Apr.-Sept. 2019. Deputy political director at the DSCC, Apr. 2017-Dec. 2018. IE political desk at the DCCC, Mar.-Dec. 2016. Finance director on Kevin Strouse's campaign for Congress in PA-8, 2013-14. B.A. in economics from Cornell University, 2010. twitter Joe O'Dea: Zack Roday Managing director for communications and strategy at 76 Group from May 2020; senior strategist at Ascent Media Agency from May 2020; vice president of communications at P2 Public Affairs from May 2020; and senior advisor at GuidePost Strategies from May 2020. Director of communications at the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Feb. 2019-Apr. 2020. Communications director at the Republican Attorneys General Association, Oct. 2017-Jan. 2019. Press secretary in the political office of Speaker Paul Ryan, Dec. 2015-Sept. 2017. Communications director to U.S. Rep. David Young (IA), Jan.-Dec. 2015. Special assistant to Gov. Scott Walker at Friends of Scott Walker, Sept. 2013-Jan. 2015. Consultant, Jan.-Aug. 2013. National advance staff on Romney for President, Aug.-Nov. 2012. Director of public affairs at the Armed Forces Foundation, Aug. 2011-Aug. 2021. Assistant to the chief of staff to Sen. Joe Lieberman (CT), Aug. 2009-Aug. 2011. B.A. in political science from University of Connecticut. twitter See also: Chasee Woodruff. "Could Colorado third-party candidates play spoiler? History shows it's unlikely." Colorado Newsline, Nov. 7, 2022. Natalie Allison. "The sleeper state Republicans are targeting to win the Senate." Politico, Oct. 17, 2022. Nicole Narea. "Even Mitch McConnell's 'perfect' candidate might not win in Colorado." Vox, Sept. 22, 2022. Caitlyn Kim. "As the US Senate race looks increasingly competitive, Michael Bennet and Joe O’Dea hit the campaign trail to win over Coloradans." Colorado Public Radio, Sept. 2, 2022. Carl Hulse. "A Surprise Senate Race Rises Out West." New York Times, Aug. 30, 2022. Josh Krausher and John Frank. "Republican Joe O'Dea embraces 'moderate' label in U.S. Senate race." Axios, July 25, 2022. Bente Birkeland. "The big new player in Colorado's Senate GOP primary? Democratic groups." Colorado Public Radio, June 8, 2022. Natalie Allison. "Dems meddle in Senate primary to advance hardline MAGA Republican." Politico, June 9, 2022. Jesse Paul. "6 big areas where the two Republicans running for U.S. Senate in Colorado disagree." The Colorado Sun, June 1, 2022. Dick Wadhams "If Ron Hanks and Tina Peters are nominated, GOP can kiss this election goodbye." Denver Post, Apr. 14, 2022. Jesse Paul, Shannon Najmabadi and Sandra Fish. "Ron Hanks beats 5 candidates to make Colorado's Republican Senate primary ballot." The Colorado Sun, Apr. 9, 2022. Ernest Luning. "Crowded field of Bennet's GOP challengers moves toward primary ballot." Colorado Politics, Feb. 18, 2022. |
 
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