By Jen Schumann | Contributor, Rocky Mountain Voice
The Rocky Mountain Rumble held Sunday in Clifton gathered Western Slope conservatives under a shared mission: fighting for rural Colorado’s future and energizing the community ahead of crucial elections.
Hosted by Rocky Mountain Voice’s founder Heidi Ganahl, the event underscored the importance of unity, local leadership and economic opportunity as the region grapples with state and federal overreach.
Mesa County resident and attendee Vicky Murphy says she’s been a political junkie for years, often speaking her mind and she’s noticed a change in locals around her lately.
“People that I’ve known for years who never opened their mouth about politics are suddenly very chatty,” she said. “They have passion [and] concern, and they want an outlet for it.”
Murphy notes her dedication to getting out the truth when legacy media fails to do so.
“I will do everything I can to amplify Heidi [Ganahl] and Rocky Mountain Voice,” she said. For her, Twitter/X is vital for promoting the America First agenda.
Shirley Bauer, a Cedaredge resident, former precinct chair and Republican grassroots organizer echoed similar sentiments: “When the conservatives [and] grassroots unite, we win every single time. That’s why I’m so supportive of what Heidi is doing with Rocky Mountain Voice. We need these voices.”
Marc Catlin, the Republican nominee for Colorado Senate District 5, emphasized the election’s urgency.
“This is an all-hands-on-deck election,” he said. If we win this district, we hold on to our minority and won’t give a supermajority to the Democrat[ic] party.”
Catlin stressed the need to protect Western Slope values.
“Grand Junction’s not ruling me, but Boulder is, and so’s Denver. They don’t even know where you are, let alone care about what you care about,” he said. “As an American, I agreed to be governed. I did not agree to be ruled.”
Catlin also focused on the dangers of a Democratic supermajority.
“The supermajority means something to you that you may not have thought about. With two-thirds of the vote, the Democrats can put anything they want on your ballot. It’s veto-proof,” he said.
Despite the challenges, Catlin struck an optimistic tone: “One of the things about Republicans is they take the time to figure out who to vote for and what to vote for. That’s proved tonight by you taking time out of your Sunday to find out about the issues that impact us all.”
Concerns about federal overreach and the preservation of economic opportunities were central to the messages of speakers like Sean Pond, founder of Halt the Dolores, who warned about the proposed Dolores National Monument.
“The proponents will tell you that it won’t affect the cattle grazing allocations. [But] road closures and access restrictions will make it almost impossible for those ranching families to use the allocation,” Pond cautioned.
Pond stressed how crucial mining and energy jobs are for the region: “There are currently 965 active mining permits within the Dolores Monument boundary. It’s the largest and richest uranium deposit in the United States of America. Don’t western Colorado residents want good paying mining jobs? Doesn’t Mesa and Montrose County need that revenue?”
Jeff Hurd, running for Colorado’s 3rd District seat in the U.S. House, shared, “My fundamental reason for running is to create economic opportunities so that our children and our grandchildren can stay and live and thrive in rural Colorado.”
Hurd urged attendees to acknowledge the national significance of the 3rd District: “They’re trying to flip control of the U.S. House of Representatives. They cannot do that without this seat.”
Cody Davis, a Mesa County commissioner, shared what motivated him to run for office: “When I [became] commissioner, that was my biggest goal to push back against the state and federal government because they’re coming after rural Colorado, guys.”
Davis also noted how local races are becoming more important, “The Democrat[ic] state party has stopped funding legislator races and are going after local county commissioner races.”
State Sen. Janice Rich from District 7 highlighted her dedication to the Western Slope community.
“There’s not a day that I don’t walk in there that I know who I’m there to serve. It’s not about me. It’s about the people that sent me there.” She continued, “[Democrats] don’t know what it’s like to work as hard as we do to protect our values and our principles on the Western Slope. They have no idea how much we have to work across the aisle and try to educate them on what’s important to all of you.”
Another Mesa County commissioner, Bobbie Daniel, praised her colleague, Davis: “He doesn’t like to toot his own horn, but I work with him every day. I’m here to tell you this guy is conservative, he puts his family first and everything that he’s thinking about, every single policy, he’s thinking about his kids. He does so much work. He is a force, not only on the county commissioner board, he works with every single one of our conservative counties to make sure that we’re all putting good policies forward.”
HD-54 State Rep. Matt Soper voiced frustration over rural Colorado’s underrepresentation in the media: “My constituents keep saying, ‘We don’t know what you’re doing in Denver.’ We want more original news reporting.” He added, “You [RMV] are definitely helping the conservative movement in Colorado.”
State House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese spoke about the importance of servant leadership: “We fight for you and go to [the] legislature every day during session and make sure your voices get heard.” And she urged voters, “We need to elect Mark Catlin so that we can keep the Senate out of the super minority.”
“When I tuck my babies to bed on Nov. 4, I’m going to know that I have done everything in my power to fight for the conservative movement, to fight for our values, to fight for all of you,” Pugliese concluded.
Mesa County School Board President Andrea Haitz pointed to the gains made in District 51: “We have over 87 percent of our third graders reading at or above grade level.” She also noted the importance of transparent responsibility: “We are holding ourselves accountable to you all and we’re holding those running the school district accountable.”
Karen Troester, the School District 51 Bond and Mill Levy Override (MLO) Committee Co-Chair, urged attendees to support local ballot measures: “I would really ask you tonight to vote yes on both 4A and 4B. It’s not an additional tax increase.” She added, “One of the things that the school district did is it passed a 25-year strategic plan. I would highly encourage you to go out on the school district website and take a look at it. It spells out everything that these funds will be spent on.”
The Rocky Mountain Rumble was more than just a gathering of like-minded conservatives. It was a call to action for those who care deeply about the future of Western Colorado. The speakers — ranging from experienced state lawmakers like Marc Catlin, Rose Pugliese and Janice Rich to local officials Cody Davis and Andrea Haitz and grassroots leaders like Sean Pond — delivered a unified message: rural values, economic opportunity and conservative principles have the power to positively impact all Coloradans.
Murphy emphasized this point after the event, “In reality, whether a Democrat, an Independent, a Republican or MAGA, America First is really what the unity party is. We have more in common than what separates us.”
Catlin reminded the audience: “This is one of those elections where people talk about, you hear politicians always say, ‘This is the most important one in your life.’ Every election that I’ve voted in has been important. But this one, if we don’t win it, could be the last one.”