By BRIAN PORTER | The Rocky Mountain Voice
If Peter Yu earns the Republican nomination for Congress in Colorado’s 4th District, it may just be through his work ethic and accessibility with voters.
He didn’t draw support from delegates in the special election and did not attend the Republican Party’s assembly, but he has attended almost every Lincoln Dinner in the 22 counties of the district. Those are echo chambers, he has said, and Yu has preferred to take his largely self-funded campaign to the streets of the district ranging about one-third of the state’s land area.
“I have personally knocked on over 12,000 doors already this year,” Yu said in a letter to supporters this week, announcing he would appear on the ballot. “I have enjoyed standing with many of you for 30 minutes or more listening to your views on issues of our country. I pride myself on returning every phone call, personally answering every email and visiting public venues throughout our district to connect with you, the concerned citizens of CD4.”
By campaigning the old-fashioned way, Yu claims to have personally met 25,000 voters and “having shown the residents of the 4th District my work ethic, dedication, and the type of representative they would have if elected.”
The letter to his supporters indicated that he personally collected 90% of the signatures needed to get on the ballot. His petition was certified last week by the Colorado Secretary of State’s office.
“Unlike other candidates, I did not use donations from voters to buy signatures,” he said. “This was a 100% grassroots effort by myself and my supporters to demonstrate my financial ideals, trustworthiness and dedication as your representative.”
He has pledged to knock another 20,000 doors before the June 25 primary election, along with teasing open house and town hall meetings he intends to offer to voters, “regardless of political affiliation.” That could potentially put his personal engagement at 10% of the district’s voters, or a little more than one-eighth of the residents in the district.
The letter details that he wants to be “a trustworthy candidate to support on Election Day.”
The Windsor Republican loaned the campaign $250,000 and has $275,657 in cash after collecting $31,112 in donations during the first quarter of 2024.
“I do not take this opportunity lightly. I feel blessed to be a citizen of the greatest country in the world,” the letter continues. “You have told me that it is not about outside endorsements, rather it is about making promises I can keep, being true to the voters of the 4th District, and being the most accessible representative in Colorado. It is now time we start making the people of the 4th District the priority.”
He pledges to hear concerns and problems, and work to “develop solid solutions that will serve a united people, rather than ideas that further divide us as citizens.” He identifies as a “solid conservative who has a broad appeal to all voters”.