By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice
When voting delegates are considering their preferred candidates to support through county caucuses and ultimately at the Republican Assembly, there may be many issues of importance delegates could take into mind in representation of voters.
Positions on the economy, immigration, peace abroad, energy independence, taxes and the national debt are just but a few of those.
In a few recent 4th Congressional District forums, one legislative scorecard has been noted – this one a measurement of the conservative outlook a candidate may have toward legislation. The Rocky Mountain Voice decided to fact check and provide the results.
Following is a glance at some scorecard results and how candidates in various races have fared. Not all candidates in Congressional races have a score, because some have not served either in the state legislature or in Congress. In other cases, service in the state legislature is not recent enough for a score to be posted by the organization.
Liberty Score (Federal)
This federal scorecard, by Conservative Review, measures members of Congress on votes across a rolling six-year period. The grade assists in determining whether a lawmaker is supporting conservative principles and to help in evaluation, the website reads.
In the 4th District, Rep. Lauren Boebert is the only candidate to have been scored on the federal scorecard. She was one of nine members of the Congress to score a perfect 100% graded on the result of 23 votes.
U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, who in October announced he would not seek re-election in the 4th District, scored 96%. Rep. Doug Lamborn, who also announced he would not seek election in the 5th District, scored 76%.
The highest scoring Colorado Democrat was Diana DeGette at 8%. Sen. Michael Bennet scored 6% and Sen. John Hickenlooper scored 0%. He was the only member of Colorado’s Congressional delegation not to register a score. Sen. Mike Lee of Utah was the highest scoring senator.
Liberty Scorecard (State)
The state companion to Liberty Score is the Liberty Scorecard, an effort of the Colorado Liberty Republicans, headed by Sue Moore.
The purpose is to “promote and support the ideals of individual rights, free markets and limited government by holding our elected officials accountable to these principles at the state level. We do this by reading and rating bills as they are introduced and voted on in the Colorado State Legislature. We compare our positions with those of each legislator, calculate grades and produce the Colorado Liberty Scorecard,” the website reads.
Only seven members of the Colorado Legislature had a passing grade in 2023, according to a Rocky Mountain Voice review of the website. The highest grade is 92.6% held by Stephanie Luck in the Colorado House’s 60th District. The top score in the Colorado Senate is 83.5% held by Kevin Van Winkle in the 30th District. Luck is the only member of either chamber to earn an ‘A’ grade.
In Colorado’s 4th Congressional District race, candidates Richard Holtorf scored 60.2% in House District 63 and Mike Lynch scored 55.9% in House District 65. In his final year of service in the Colorado Senate in 2022, candidate Jerry Sonnenberg scored 64.9%. Also of importance is where they ranked. Holtorf ranked seventh among all House members, Lynch was 17th and Sonnenberg was 4th in the Senate.
In the 5th District, two candidates were scored. Dave Williams received a Liberty score of 92.9% and ranked third in the Colorado House in 2021, Bob Gardner scored 59.5% and ranked 7th in the Colorado Senate.
In the 8th District, Gabe Evans ranks 7th in the Colorado House with a score of 68.8%. His two primary opponents have not been scored. Those three are seeking to oust Democrat U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo.
In the 3rd District, Ron Hanks is the only candidate who has been scored. He earned a grade of 78.9% in 2022, serving in Colorado House District 60. That year he was ranked 7th in the House.
Heritage Action for America (Federal)
In 2010, Heritage Action was formed and the organization’s website asks “How conservative are your Congressmen and Senators?” An arm of the Heritage Foundation, the scorecard “measures votes and co-sponsorships to show how conservative members of Congress are,” the website reads.
Boebert leads all members of the Colorado Congressional delegation with a score of 84%, followed by Lamborn at 71% and Buck at 67%. Degette was the only Democrat to register a score at 16%; all other Colorado Democrats scored 0%.
Colorado Union of Taxpayers (State)
The Colorado Union of Taxpayers (CUT) analyzed and took a position on 213 of the 681 bills in 2023, ranging a spectrum of subject matter to comprise a score. The criteria includes upholding the spirit of TABOR, opposing any new net tax increase, limiting spending, supporting property rights, and other matters.
Rep. Luck also held the top score of 88%, with no member of the House or Senate earning an ‘A’ grade. Sen. Mark Baisley led the Senate with a score of 84%.
In Colorado’s 4th District, Rep. Holtorf earned a grade of 68% and Rep. Lynch scored 57%.
In the 5th District, Sen. Gardner scored 66%.
In the 8th District, Rep. Evans scored 70%.