Sharp Divides Emerge in Colorado Republican Governor Debate

By Óscar Contreras | Denver7

DENVER — Colorado Republican gubernatorial candidates State Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer and State Rep. Scott Bottoms took the stage Thursday evening in their first televised debate ahead of the June 30 primaries. Victor Marx, a third contender in the GOP gubernatorial race, was invited to participate in the debate but declined Denver7’s invitation.

Both candidates fielded questions before a live studio audience of a few dozen people as they tried to make the case as to why it was time for Coloradans to hand power back to Republicans this November after nearly 20 years of Democratic control in the state. It was the first major televised debate for both candidates.

Thursday’s debate was hosted by Denver7, CPR News and The Denver Post, and was broadcast across all three of each news organization’s website. It was also broadcast across all of CPR’s radio network in the state.

The debate began with a question about leadership, and about the policies or issues both candidates saw as ripe for compromise with Democrats to solve the major issues facing Coloradans.

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