Kafer: Heidi Ganahl must run for governor like she’s not afraid to lose support of some GOP voters

Be consenting to suffer to triumph — my proposal to the University of Colorado Regent Heidi Ganahl arsenic she embarks connected her candidacy for politician of Colorado. As the past Republican to clasp a statewide bureau successful this state, she is taking a courageous risk. Ganahl is smart, entrepreneurial, inspiring, and genuinely the nicest idiosyncratic I’ve met successful politics. She volition marque a large governor.

Unfortunately, her candidacy announcement was overshadowed a small erstwhile she didn’t reply a question posed by 9NEWS governmental newsman Marshall Zelinger astir the legitimacy of the 2020 election. Zelinger wasn’t incorrect to inquire pugnacious questions. While it sometimes seems that reporters are a spot little committed to challenging Democrats, asking inconvenient questions of candidates and politicians is their job.

Zelinger did, however, marque excessively overmuch retired of Ganahl’s argumentation of deleting aged societal media posts. In this governmental environment, it’s lone prudent to springiness unscrupulous governmental operatives less opportunities to instrumentality the written connection retired of discourse for deceitful purposes.

But the question astir whether determination was fraud successful the 2020 predetermination was just game. The contented is timely — conspiracy theorists similar Republican Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters proceed to beryllium successful the quality — and the contented is salient since it speaks to the judgement of the candidate.

Understandably, Ganahl pivoted distant from the question to talk astir issues for which determination is greater communal ground. This is the safest enactment for a candidate. I retrieve getting the artful dodge from some governors Jared Polis and John Hickenlooper erstwhile I interviewed them connected the radio. It’s the pitched conflict journalists and elected leaders often wage successful interviews.

Since a fig of Republicans proceed to judge the predetermination was stolen contempt the paucity of evidence, consultants are apt telling GOP candidates to debar the issue. How galore Republicans inactive quality the predetermination results? How galore of them would wantonness a statewide GOP campaigner for saying the predetermination wasn’t stolen? Hard to accidental but nary GOP campaigner successful a bluish authorities wants to suffer a bloc of Republican voters.

I would reason that Ganahl indispensable beryllium consenting to hazard losing these Republicans successful bid to win. There was nary grounds of monolithic fraud during the past election. Reporters astatine center-right quality agencies, GOP secretaries of state, the courts, and instrumentality enforcement had each crushed to find, expose, and study malfeasance if it existed and they didn’t.

The aforesaid goes for pillow mogul Mike Lindell, the erstwhile president, and different purveyors of the Big Lie hoax; if the impervious existed, they would person recovered it if lone to prevention their reputations. Could elections beryllium made much secure? Certainly, thing tin beryllium made amended but the existing predetermination strategy yielded a wide answer. Biden won.

Every GOP person who sees the information needs to talk successful its defence due to the fact that the Big Lie conspiracy mentation undermines American religion successful democracy, our antiauthoritarian institutions, and the peaceful transportation of elected office. The mentation and Trump’s continued beingness are a distraction from the failures of Democrats, specified as, the Afghanistan debacle, rising inflation, and the detrimental interaction of the shutdowns. The GOP is poised to prime up seats successful the adjacent predetermination if Republicans amusement however specified policies person wounded families, workers, children’s education, and the economy.

Fortune doesn’t ever favour the brave. Even so, we indispensable beryllium fearless successful the defence of the truth. It is worthy the risk.

Krista L. Kafer is simply a play Denver Post columnist. Follow her connected Twitter: @kristakafer.

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