Fall election candidates

The fall 2010 elections are heating up as Nov. 2 comes nearer and nearer, and many CU students said they plan to vote but haven’t decided who to vote for yet.

John Hickenlooper (D) is leading the race for governor with 46 percent of the vote in Rasmussen Report’s new poll. Tom Tancredo, of the American Constitution Party, came in second with 25 percent, and Dan Maes, the Republican candidate for governor, had 21 percent of the vote.

Some CU students said they believe these elections are important

“It should be considered more important,” said William Shutze, a 19-year-old sophomore Russian studies major. “The President is just one guy. Who runs the city and the state is just as important because otherwise why would they exist?”

Some students said they plan on voting, but aren’t sure which candidate to pick yet.

“I’m probably going to just look up the facts about each individual [candidate] and pick one that way,” Shutze said.

Hickenlooper said on his website he thinks the number-one issue for the next governor of Colorado will be the economy. His goals include, “keeping taxes low, affordable housing, efficient transportation and infrastructure, having a predictable and fair regulatory environment for business and, perhaps most important of all, having a strong education system” to recover the economy.

Hickenlooper is also pushing what he has said are more beneficial environmental policies. He is an exploration geologist, which gives him a special interest in conserving Colorado’s natural wonders and using Colorado’s natural energy reserves more efficiently, according to his website.

The fight for the conservative candidacy for governor has been between Tom Tancredo of the American Constitutional Party and Republican Dan Maes. According to Rasmussen Reports, within the Republican party, Maes has 46 percent of Republican voters, and Tancredo has 36 percent of Republicans in addition to those supporting him through the ACP.

Maes participated in the first campaign debate with Hickenlooper last Saturday, with Tancredo protesting outside.

Tancredo served 10 years in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican. His main campaign talking points include creating jobs and fiscal conservatism. He also hopes to implement “tough new Arizona-style interior and employer enforcement laws” to combat illegal immigration, according to his website.

Maes won the Republican candidacy after favorite Scott McInnis was disgraced in a plagiarism scandal. Maes is the founder of a credit reporting agency and telecommunications franchise. He plans to cut off funding for Planned Parenthood and new energy industry regulations as well as reduce FTE counts, according to his website.

Republican candidate Ken Buck leads the Senate race with 49 percent of people surveyed saying they would vote for him. Michael Bennet, his Democratic opponent, gained 45 percent, according to Rasmussen Reports.

Emma Ogg, a 22-year-old senior international affairs and history double major, said reading a candidate’s bio helps her come to a decision.

“I usually make up my mind the week before when I read the bios,” Ogg said.

A former District Attorney, truck driver and school janitor, Ken Buck said he “knows what Colorado families face every day” on his website. He said he is passionate about the Second Amendment right to bear arms, revamping illegal immigration policies and respect for life, among other things.

Buck said he is pushing to lower taxes across the board and downsize government by lowering federal spending.

Michael Bennet is the democratic candidate for the open Senate seat. He replaced Ken Salazar as a Colorado senator in January 2009 and has said he hopes to renew his senate seat this fall. His main campaign platforms have been education, the economy, healthcare and reproductive rights, among others.

A former superintendent of Denver public schools, Bennet said he is dedicated to improving the state’s public education, including higher education centers like CU. He wants to “transform our public education system to one that truly prepares our children to compete in a 21st Century economy that thrives on innovation and higher education,” according to his website.

Bennet is also proud of his advocacy of women’s rights, such as the right to choose, to use contraception or have an abortion. He believes “it would be unconstitutional for a state to outlaw or severely restrict reproductive rights,” according to his website.

James Tyson, a 27-year-old senior environmental studies and linguistics double major, said he thinks Bennet has done a good job reaching out to students and their views.

“I’ve had several meetings with Senator Bennet with several organizations,” Tyson said. “I really hope he passes the water-restoration act.”

Kallie Barnes, a 22-year-old senior environmental studies and ecology and evolutionary biology double major, said while health care is important to her, she cares most about the candidates’ environmental policies.

“I’m a one-issue voter: the environment,” Barnes said.

Ogg said fiscal conservatism and balancing the budget are the most important issues to her.

“The government can’t just keep dolling out money, but at the same time school is really important to me and it’s getting really expensive,” she said. “The government needs to be more efficient. The bureaucracy is so huge; it’s not good.”

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Julie Ryan at Ryanja@colorado.edu.