By Rocky Mountain Voice Editorial Board
The issue: Colorado’s 4th Congressional District will offer a field of 11 Republican candidates and 17 candidates total for a seat in Congress.
We say: A field this large will be difficult to navigate. Get to know the candidates, their values and positions. Ultimately, delegates and then voters will be tasked with selecting one person to send to Washington, D.C.
A five-minute opportunity for Congressional candidates to state their case to prospective voters drew a capacity crowd Sunday evening in Windsor at the President’s Day Celebration, hosted by the Colorado Conservative Patriot Alliance, in American Legion Post No. 109.
Five minutes. That’s 300 seconds. Not exactly an eternity.
Then again, anyone unfamiliar with Colorado’s 4th Congressional District might not realize nearly a dozen candidates are running for the seat.
Eight of the 11 announced candidates attended the meet and greet, followed by the cattle call of candidates for their speaking opportunities on the stump.
One of them shared with the audience in attendance that, for the most part, the candidates will agree on issues from closing the border, cutting the national debt, gun rights and so on, but what voters need to decide is whom will be best suited to represent them.
That’s largely true, but more easily said than done in such a crowded field. The listing on Ballotpedia now is so lengthy a voter must scroll down to find one candidate alphabetically at the bottom of the list. The race is breaking the Internet.
We have heard the comment from among the candidates that this field is record-setting. That’s true. Including five Democrats and a Libertarian, there are 17 people campaigning to become the next Congressperson. Everyone but Mr. Smith is running. When Ken Buck first ran for the seat in 2014, he faced three opponents in the primary.
It compares to California’s 30th Congressional District in 2024 with 15 candidates filed from all parties seeking to replace Democrat Adam Schiff, except that is Los Angeles and this district is largely rural Colorado. When Roger Williams was elected to Texas’ 25th Congressional District in 2012, he faced a Republican primary field of 12 candidates from Fort Worth to Fort Hood, but only one Democrat and a Libertarian for a total of 14 candidates.
Why so many candidates have an interest in this seat this time, we cannot fairly answer. We know the pay is pretty decent and, if you stay long enough, there are retirement benefits. Congressmen make a salary similar to the Fort Morgan city manager. And, in any job interview, choice is not a bad thing.
It is difficult to sift through the selection of 11 candidates from one party for the job. Party delegates will likely trim it down to a manageable three to four candidates, something delegates in Texas weren’t charged to do when Williams ran in that primary. We encourage delegates to study the candidates, select from the best and hand to voters the most qualified from this pool.
If the presentation by candidates made at the Colorado Conservative Patriot Alliance’s forum is any indication, this field is packed with those who can do the job. Voters will have to find the one they want to do the job.