Gunnison County’s choice for a Democratic challenger to Lauren Boebert appears to mirror that of the rest of the 3rd Congressional District: a poll showed that support is largely split between Debby Burnett and Sol Sandoval, the two front runners in the primary race.
The poll on the CD3 race was one of several election hints provided by Gunnison County Democrats at their caucus on March 5. Statewide candidates, including Governor Jared Polis, gave stump speeches via Zoom. And three incumbents and one newcomer stepped forward for county positions: Kathy Simillion, who is seeking re-election as county clerk and recorder; Kristy McFarland, who is up for re-election as county assessor; Michael Barnes, who will ask voters for another term as coroner; and Laura Puckett Daniels, who is running for an open spot on the board of county commissioners.
“Running for office is an act of hope. It’s a concrete way of saying I believe in you, and I believe in our future,” Daniels said.
“We look forward to working with you and getting you elected,” County Party Chair Jim Starr said to Daniels at the end of her speech, which, like the entire caucus event, was held via Zoom.
Simillion said she was running on largely the same platform as her first term.
“I first ran in 2014 on protecting voter rights, and basically that still stands today,” Simillion said.
McFarland touted the unveiling of a new assessor’s website as one of her accomplishments and noted that she serves on the state’s board of real estate appraisers.
Barnes, seeking a second term as coroner, said many of his roles are spelled out in statute but that he gave equal weight to providing the people of the county “with equal parts compassion, care and empathy.”
All four of these county candidates are set to run uncontested in the primary election, which will be held statewide June 28.
Preference polls
The party held polls via Zoom to decide how many delegates Gunnison County Democrats would send to upcoming assemblies. The assemblies will decide who will appear on primary ballots for state house races, for the 3rd Congressional District race and for U.S. Senate.
No poll took place for State House District 58 because no Democrats have entered the race. Starr said the party expects a candidate to step up in Montrose, and he said that person will serve as a placeholder for a few months while Democrats look for someone to challenge incumbent Republican Marc Catlin in the race.
The 2022 election will be the first time that Gunnison County is lumped into House District 58, after the 2021 redistricting process redrew the state map. Formerly, Gunnison County was split into two house districts, both of which were represented by Democrats. The entirety of Gunnison County is now in House District 58. The district extends west to encompass Montrose and part of Delta County. The Colorado Redistricting Commission’s analysis showed that the district’s electorate leans Republican.
For the U.S. House and Senate races, county Democrats had 16 delegates to divvy between the candidates. Starr noted that three of those delegates were “bonus seats” awarded to the county because of its high Democratic voter turnout.
In the congressional race, there was a 15% threshold for votes to translate into delegates for candidates. Only Debby Burnett, who recently moved to Gunnison, and Sol Sandoval of Pueblo met this mark. Of the 38 votes cast, Burnett received 34%, Sandoval received 26% and 23% of votes were uncommitted. Using a formula provided by the state party, Gunnison County Democrats will send to the congressional assembly seven delegates for Burnett, five for Sandoval and four as uncommitted.
All 16 of Gunnison County’s Democratic delegates went to incumbent U.S. Senator Michael Bennet. Receiving 73% of the 38 votes cast, Bennet was the only senate candidate to receive at least 30% of the votes at the caucus. Candidate Karen Breslin received no votes, and Dan Chapin received two votes.
The state Democratic assembly will be held April 9. Like the local caucus, it will be held via Zoom.
(Sam Liebl can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or editor@gunnisontimes.com.)
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