Friday, February 28, 2014

2014 Pre-Caucus Candidate Information

Update 6/5 - This list of candidate positions has been expanded and updated for the 2014 Primary Election, new positions listed here. Please disregard this listing.





OBSOLETE INFO (see above)



Update 3/22 - Cong. Cory Gardner (R), candidate for the US Senate, has renounced his belief in Personhood and now supports rape and incest exceptions for abortion, meaning that he supports 8,000 abortions of innocent human children per year.  He is no longer a pro-life candidate, having betrayed the children in pursuit of political office.

Update 4/4 - Cong. Mike Coffman (R) has also said he no longer supports Personhood.

Note to readers: 1) This list will be updated quickly with new survey responses as more candidates respond. Many may not have had time to respond, because of how busy they are during this pre-caucus season. If a pro-life candidate has not responded, please encourage them to do so!
2) This list is limited to Colorado legislative, congressional and gubernatorial candidates. Our volunteers have limited time to expand the scope of this survey. CRTL may issue statements on other races, but for the most part this is our focus in 2014.


The 2014 Colorado Right to Life survey asked 7 position questions of candidates, establishing their positions on issues from pro-abortion mandates to fetal homicide legislation to the protection of unborn children under the 5th and 14th Amendments. Each year we have had to be more careful not to expose our favorite candidates to attack by opponents based on their responses. In 2012, we even saw a heretofore well-regarded pro-life legislator attacking a pro-Personhood candidate by twisting and lying about his responses to the CRTL survey. Therefore, this year specific questions and candidates’ answers will not be made public. CRTL will issue its opinion on each candidate’s dedication to Personhood principles, and we ask you to trust that we are rigorous in our evaluation of candidates. CRTL does not endorse candidates, but rather issues a “white list” – people who we believe take their responsibility to unborn children under the law seriously.

No candidate is considered "pro-life" unless they support the Personhood amendment and have pledged to oppose all abortion (with the understanding that a doctor may take action to save a woman’s life while also trying to save the baby’s life, even if the baby’s survival is doubtful due to other factors). This is the only position consistent with the inalienable Right to Life of every innocent human being at every age or stage of development. Candidates who support "rape or incest exceptions" are NOT pro-life because there is never an excuse to kill an innocent child.

Positive respondents to the survey are listed as “rigorously affirmed that they are pro-life” – this is not to say they will remain pro-life under pressure, but they have affirmed to CRTL that they agree with our positions on the 7 issues. A number of candidates who are probably pro-life are not listed as such yet because they have not responded to the survey. At this early date, a number of candidates who are running unopposed or whose position is relatively well known have not received the survey yet.


Candidates for Governor



John Hickenlooper (D) is pro-abortion.
Tom Tancredo (R) has not yet responded to the survey. He has supported Personhood in the past.
Mike Kopp (R) has not yet responded to the survey. He has supported Personhood in the past and said in a recent debate that he supported the ballot measure in 2012.
Sen. Greg Brophy (R) (Update 3/26) has responded to the survey and has rigorously affirmed that he is pro-life.
Sec. State Scott Gessler (R) has not yet responded to the survey. He is not believed to be supportive of Personhood or serious changes in the status quo with regard to abortion.
Jason Clark (R) has not responded to the survey, but is regarded as pro-abortion based on prior statements.
Steve House (R) has not responded to the survey, and said in a recent debate that he did NOT support Personhood in 2012. He is not believed to be pro-life.
Roni Bell Sylvester (R) has not responded to the survey. If you know her please ask her to return her survey.
Jim Rundberg (R) has responded to the survey and has rigorously affirmed that he is pro-life.


Candidates for US Senate

(This race has gotten confused this week as Ken Buck and Amy Stephens may have dropped their bids for US Senate in favor of Congressman Cory Gardner – we list all these candidates, just in case)

Update 3/22 - Cong. Cory Gardner (R), candidate for the US Senate, has renounced his belief in Personhood and now supports rape and incest exceptions for abortion, meaning that he supports 8,000 abortions of innocent human children per year.  He is no longer a pro-life candidate, having betrayed the children in pursuit of political office.
Sen. Owen Hill (R) has responded to our survey and has rigorously affirmed that he is pro-life.
Fmr. Rep. Amy Stephens (R) has not responded to our survey (and in fact has NEVER responded to a survey from CRTL, nor we believe from Colorado Springs Citizens for Life either). She claims to be pro-life and claims to support Personhood, but her sincerity is deeply questioned.
Sen. Randy Baumgardner (R) (Updated 4/4) has responded to our survey and has rigorously affirmed that he is pro-life.
Mark Aspiri (R) has not yet responded to the survey. One report says that he claimed support for the 2012 Personhood amendment, but that has not been confirmed.


Congressional Candidates



(CRTL is collecting surveys from Congressional candidates, but there is not much in the way of competition this year, and our early efforts are more concentrated on those races where there is a clear choice – we will report more in the future)

(Update 4/4 - Quick notes on some districts)

CD 4
Ken Buck (R) backed off on his commitment to Personhood in his 2010 race for this office. He has since re-affirmed his support for Personhood, most recently in this week’s senatorial debate.
Sen. Scott Renfroe (R) has supported Personhood in the past -- please encourage him to return his CRTL survey to confirm continued support.

CD 5
Both Cong. Doug Lamborn (R) and Gen. Bentley Rayburn (R) have supported Personhood in the past.  Lamborn has a proven record of supporting Personhood at the Congressional level.  Rayburn may have signaled that his focus is more on economic issues, but we are surveying both candidates and hope to hear back.

CD 6
Cong. Mike Coffman (R) has renounced his past support of Personhood and is no longer pro-life.


State Senate Candidates

(Many candidates who are running unopposed in the primary have not been sent surveys yet, so cannot have responded.)

State Senate District 1

Rep. Jerry Sonnenberg (R) is the only candidate so far for this office. He has not yet received the survey, so can’t have responded, but has supported Personhood in the past.

State Senate District 2

Sen. Kevin Grantham (R) is the only candidate so far for this office. He has not yet received the survey, so can’t have responded, but has supported Personhood in the past.

State Senate District 3

Sen. George Rivera (R) is a newly elected legislator who won one of the two recall elections in 2013. He has not yet responded to the survey. (Update 3/4 - Comment from CRTL Board Member Dee Waite: "Senator George Rivera is pro-life. He signed the Amendment 67 petition and wouldn't compromise his pro-life commitment when attacked by the press and Angela Giron.")
Leroy Garcia (D) has not been surveyed yet.

State Senate District 5

Don Suppes (R) has not yet responded to the survey.
Kerry Donovan (D) has not been surveyed yet.

State Senate District 6

Sen. Ellen Roberts (R) is regarded as the most pro-abortion Republican in the legislature. It’s unclear if there will be opposition to her in the primary. She is currently unopposed by either party.

State Senate District 7

Rep. Ray Scott (R) has not been surveyed yet, but he has supported Personhood in the past.
Claudette Konola (D), is assumed to be pro-abortion.

State Senate District 9

Sen. Kent Lambert (R) has not been surveyed yet, but he has supported Personhood in the past. He is unopposed so far.

State Senate District 11

Sen. Bernie Herpin (R) is a newly elected legislator who won one of the two recall elections in 2013. He has not been surveyed yet.
Rep. Mike Merrifield (D), is pro-abortion.

State Senate District 13

Neither candidate for SD 13 has been surveyed yet. We will update when information is available.

State Senate District 15

Sen. Kevin Lundberg (R) has not responded to the survey yet, but he has supported Personhood in the past. He is unopposed, so far.

State Senate District 16

Former Sen. Tim Neville (R) has not responded to the survey yet, but has supported Personhood in the past.
Richard Wenzel (R), doesn’t appear to have an e-mail or website (if you know him could you let us know how to reach him?).
Incumbent Sen. Jeanne Nicholson (D) is pro-abortion.

State Senate District 19

Laura Woods (R) has responded to the survey and has rigorously affirmed that she is pro-life.
Lang Sias (R) claims to be pro-life, but has never responded to a CRTL survey (this is his 3rd election cycle) and his position is suspect (many Republicans claim to be pro-life but don’t want to explain they define that term loosely). There is no reason to believe he would support Personhood, in any case.
Sen. Rachel Zenzinger (D) was appointed to this seat after a recall effort forced the resignation of the previous senator. Zenzinger is believed to be pro-abortion.

State Senate District 20

Larry Queen (R) (Updated 3/3) has responded to the survey and has rigorously affirmed that he is pro-life.
Art Carlson (R) has not responded to the survey yet, and has not responded to prior surveys. He claims to be pro-life, but his unwillingness to go on record to define his position makes us question his commitment.
A third Republican, Robert Hogan (R) appears not to have a website or e-mail (if you know him could you let us know how to reach him?).
The incumbent Sen. Cheri Jahn (D) is pro-abortion.

State Senate District 22

Neither Tony Sanchez (R) or Mario Nicolais (R) have responded to the survey yet. Sanchez is regarded as the more conservative (and pro-life) of the two.
Sen. Andy Kerr (D) is pro-abortion.

State Senate District 24

Judy Solano (D) is the only candidate announced in this race. She is assumed to be pro-abortion.

State Senate District 30

Rep. Chris Holbert (R) has responded to the survey, and has rigorously affirmed he is pro-life. He is unopposed so far in this race.

State Senate District 32

Sen. Irene Aguilar (D) is pro-abortion. She is unopposed, so far, in this race.

State Senate District 34

Sen. Lucia Guzman (D) is pro-abortion. She is unopposed, so far, in this race.



State House Candidates

State House Districts 1 - 13

The first 13 Statehouse districts are situated in Denver and Boulder counties – most of the announced candidates thus far are Democrats, and the few Republicans who have announced generally will not indicate pro-life beliefs even if they are pro-life so we have not surveyed these races yet. If you’re aware of a pro-life candidate in the mix, please let us know.


State House District 14

Daniel Nordberg (R) has not responded to the CRTL survey, but has been an aide to pro-Personhood Congressman Doug Lamborn, and has also been associated with the pro-life Republican Study Committee, so we assume he is inclined to be pro-life. If you know him please ask him to return his CRTL survey.
Glenn Carlson (D) is likely to be pro-abortion, but we will survey him to see.

State House District 15

Dave Williams (R) has returned his survey and rigorously affirmed that he is pro-life.
Pastor Gordon Klingenschmitt (R) has also returned his survey and has rigorously affirmed he is pro-life.
Michael Kuhn (R) has not yet returned his survey. If you know him, please encourage him to return his survey.

State House District 16

Rep. Janak Joshi (R) has not returned his survey yet. He says he is pro-life on his site, and is believed to support Personhood but this is not confirmed. He has worked closely with CRTL for several years in drafting a non-objectionable, non-compromised, Fetal Homicide measure for consideration by the legislature. He is associated with the pro-Personhood Republican Study Committee, and also attended the CRTL Banquet in 2012. We would like to have him on record with regard to his commitments, so please encourage him to return his survey. He is running unopposed.

State House District 17

Both Catherine “Kit” Roupe (R) and Rep. Tony Exum (D) are pro-abortion, which is unusual for such a conservative district. It is unclear if someone who is pro-life intends to stand against Roupe in the primary.

State House District 18

Rep. Pete Lee (D) is pro-abortion. At present, he is running unopposed.

State House District 19

Neither Joshua Brooks (R) or Paul Lundeen (R) have returned their surveys, so they are unknown quantities. Please encourage them to return their surveys.

State House District 20

Kristen Selzer (R) (Updated 3/3) has responded to the survey and rigorously affirmed that he is pro-life.
Terri Carver (R), Mark Braunlich (R), Miles Dewhirst (R) and Daniel Stanforth have been sent surveys, but have not returned them yet. Please encourage all of these candidates to return their surveys, preferably before the caucus.

State House District 21

Rep. Lois Landgraf (R) has not been surveyed yet, but has supported Personhood in the past. She is running unopposed, so far.

State House District 22

Justin Everett (R) has not yet been surveyed, but he has supported Personhood in the past.
Mary Parker (D) is pro-abortion.

State House District 23

Rep. Max Tyler (D) is pro-abortion. At present he is running unopposed.

State House District 24

Joseph Demott (R) has not been surveyed because we cannot find contact information. If you know him, please help us get in touch with him.
Jessie Danielson (D) was formerly a director for the local branch of pro-abortion NARAL.
Kristian Teegardin (D) is also running, and is assumed to be pro-abortion.

State House District 25

Jonathan Keyser (R) has not yet been surveyed. He is running unopposed, so far.

State House District 26

Chuck McConnell (R) is running again, but he still has not contacted CRTL (nor can we find contact information for him). Please ask him to contact us.
David Moloney (R) has not returned his survey. Please ask him, also, to answer his survey.
Rep. Diane Mitsch Bush (D) is pro-abortion.

State House District 27

Rep. Libby Szabo (R) has not returned surveys since 2008, but we believe she probably supports Personhood. Her silence is disconcerting. She is running unopposed, so far.

State House District 28

Rep. Brittany Petterson (D) is pro-abortion. She is running unopposed, so far.

State House District 29

Rep. Tracy Kraft-Tharp (D) is pro-abortion. She is running unopposed, so far.

State House District 30

Rep. Jenise May (D) is pro-abortion. She is running unopposed, so far.

State House District 31

Rep. Joe Salazar (D) is pro-abortion. He is running unopposed, so far.

State House District 32

Edgar Antillon (R) has not been surveyed yet. He says he is pro-life.
Rep. Dominick Moreno (D) is pro-abortion.

State House District 33

David Pigott (R) failed to respond to 3 attempts to contact him in 2012, and has not yet been surveyed this year. It is Pigott’s intentional strategy to avoid any conversation not related to economic issues, and it is CRTL’s best assessment that he is not pro-life.
Rep. Dianne Primavera (D) is pro-abortion, and opposed justice for unborn victims of crimes (a fetal homicide measure that would protect the unborn children of pregnant women who die in vehicular homicides or other crimes).

State House District 34

Alexander Winkler (R) has not been surveyed yet because we do not have contact information. If you know him, please have him contact us.
Rep. Steve Lebsock (D) is pro-abortion.

State House District 35

Faith Winter (D) has not been surveyed, but is probably pro-abortion. She is running unopposed, so far.

State House District 36

Rep. Su Ryden (D) is pro-abortion and opposed justice for unborn victims of crimes (a fetal homicide measure that would protect the unborn children of pregnant women who die in vehicular homicides or other crimes). She is running unopposed, so far.

State House District 37

Michael Fields (R) and Jay Ledbetter (R) have both responded to our survey, and rigorously affirmed they are pro-life.
Brian Olson (R), Carrie Penaloza (R) and John Tate (R) have not responded to the survey yet (we can’t reach Olson or Penaloza – if you know them please have them contact us).
Marlo Sherrie Alston (D) has not been surveyed, but is likely pro-abortion.

State House District 38

Kathleen Conti (R) responded favorably to CRTL’s survey in 2010, however general opinion now seems to be that she lied about her beliefs on our survey and a number of others (she campaigned as a pro-life, fiscal conservative, and she appears to be neither). She is regarded as an unreliable vote on pro-life issues. She is running unopposed, so far.

State House District 39

Rep. Polly Lawrence (R) has not yet been surveyed, but has supported Personhood in the past.
Carla Turner (D) is pro-abortion.

State House District 40

Rep. John Buckner (D) is pro-abortion. He is running unopposed, so far.

State House District 41

Rep. Jovan Melton (D) is pro-abortion. He is running unopposed, so far.

State House District 42

Rep. Rhonda Fields (D) has been very shrill in opposing pro-life efforts and opposed justice for unborn victims of crimes (a fetal homicide measure that would protect the unborn children of pregnant women who die in vehicular homicides or other crimes). She is pro-abortion. She is running unopposed, so far.

State House District 43

Kevin Van Winkle (R) has responded to our survey and has rigorously affirmed that he is pro-life (Updated 3/12).

State House District 44

Jack Hilbert (R) has responded to the CRTL survey, and has rigorously affirmed that he is pro-life. (Updated 3/5)

State House District 45

Patrick Neville (R) and Jack Arrowsmith (R) have both responded to the CRTL survey and rigorously affirmed they are pro-life.

State House District 46

Alexander Mugatu (R) has not returned our survey, but has expressed support for Personhood in the past.
Brian Mater (R) has no contact information we can find. Please encourage both of them to return their surveys.
Two unknown Democrats are also running for this seat.

State House District 47

Rep. Clarice Navarro-Ratzlaff (R) claims to be pro-life, but needs to contact CRTL to establish her positions.

State House District 48

Rep. Stephen Humphrey (R) responded to the CRTL survey and rigorously affirmed that he is pro-life. It should be noted that there were some underhanded and offensive tactics used in his primary against another pro-Personhood candidate in 2012, but we are unaware of evidence that Humphrey himself directed the most egregious of these (the grossly misleading letter went out under another letterhead). Since being elected, Humphrey seems to have done his best to earn a reputation for pro-life legislation and positions.
John Gibson (D) is pro-abortion.

State House District 49

Perry Buck (R) has not been surveyed yet. She is currently running unopposed.

State House District 50

Isaia Aricayos (R) has not been surveyed yet.
Rep. Dave Young (D) is believed to be pro-abortion.

State House District 51

Rep. Brian DelGrosso (R) has not yet been surveyed. He is currently running unopposed.

State House District 52

Rep. Joann Ginal (D) is pro-abortion. She is currently running unopposed.

State House District 53

Jennifer James Arndt (D) is assumed to be pro-abortion. She is running unopposed currently.

State House District 54

Rep. Jared Wright (R) has not yet responded to our survey, but he has supported Personhood in the past.
Yeulin Willett (R) has not yet responded to our survey. Please encourage them to respond back with us.
Brad Webb (D) is assumed to be pro-abortion.

State House District 55

Steven Acquafresca (R) has not been surveyed yet.
Christopher Kennedy (D) is assumed to be pro-abortion.

State House District 56

Rep. Kevin Priola (R) has not been surveyed yet. He is currently running unopposed.

State House District 57

Rep. Bob Rankin (R) did not reply to the CRTL survey in 2010, nor in 2012, even after multiple contacts. It is believed he is not pro-life. He is currently running unopposed.

State House District 58

Rep. Don Coram (R) has never responded to the CRTL survey in the past, but has not been surveyed yet this year. CRTL is always skeptical of candidates who don’t return their surveys or self-identify as pro-life on their websites. Coram is currently running unopposed.

State House District 59

Former Rep. J. Paul Brown (R) has not yet been surveyed, but has supported Personhood in the past.
Rep. Mike McLachlan (D) is pro-abortion.

State House District 60

James Wilson (R) has expressed a pro-life testimony on his webpage, so is believed to be sincerely pro-life, but has not been surveyed yet in 2014 (he did not respond in 2012). He is running unopposed at present.

State House District 61

Rep. Millie Hamner (D) is pro-abortion.
Debra-Lynn Irvine (R) has not been surveyed yet.

State House District 62

Rep. Ed Vigil (D) is pro-abortion, and opposed justice for unborn victims of crimes (a fetal homicide measure that would protect the unborn children of pregnant women who die in vehicular homicides or other crimes). He is currently running unopposed.

State House District 63

Rep. Lori Saine (R) has not yet returned our survey. She refused to answer the survey in 2012, and has expressed reservations about Personhood, though otherwise claims to be pro-life. Please encourage her to return her survey this year.
Bruce Sparrow (R) is running against her in the primary. It’s unclear where he stands, and we do not have a contact e-mail for him yet – if you know him, please ask him to contact CRTL.
Dustin Urban (D) is assumed to be pro-abortion.

State House District 64

Rep. Tim Dore (R) has not been surveyed yet. He has expressed support for Personhood in the past. He is currently running unopposed.

State House District 65

Fmr. Rep. Jon Becker (R) has not been surveyed yet. He is currently running unopposed.




**Please note: Republicans predominate this list because they are considered the most likely to be pro-life. Members of other parties, especially the American Constitution Party, may be pro-life. However, we have yet to hear from a single candidate from the Democrat or Libertarian parties who is pro-life. Candidates from other parties, including 3rd parties, will be contacted before the November election. Any candidate wishing to respond to the survey may contact office@coloradorighttolife.org.