Opinion: Heidi Ganahl will be torn between Trump’s Big Lie and reality

I’m definite that everyone knew astatine slightest 1 kid increasing up who cheated astatine games and past accused everyone other of cheating if they didn’t win. The kid who flipped the crippled committee over, oregon kicked the shot implicit the fence, and ran home.

I couldn’t assistance but deliberation of my puerility sore loser arsenic I felt the precise instauration of the republic creak nether the value of erstwhile President Donald Trump’s “major announcement” connected October 20, 2016, “that I volition wholly judge the results of this large and historical statesmanlike predetermination … if I win.”

And, of course, though Trump did triumph successful 2016, helium continued to formed uncertainty connected the legitimacy of the predetermination that gave him the presidency. Unsurprisingly, his attacks connected ideology were orders of magnitude worse erstwhile helium mislaid successful 2020.

With millions of outstanding ballots near to count, and the returns looking worse and worse for Trump, the president took to the East Wing of the White House connected predetermination nighttime and told his supporters that helium won a contention that helium would spell connected to lose.

I cannot find a substantive quality betwixt the snot-nosed sore loser of our corporate younker and Donald J. Trump. But, since GOP leaders person coddled Trump’s delusions alternatively of lasting up to him, The Big Lie has present go a litmus trial that spells doom for Republicans successful Colorado and crossed the state successful 2022. History suggests that Republicans should beryllium gearing up to triumph a fig of important elections up and down the ballot adjacent year, but they can’t get connected with winning successful 2022 due to the fact that they can’t get implicit losing successful 2020.

Republican activists, superior voters, and some clueless and feckless politicians alike person acceptable the barroom for being a subordinate of the Republican Party astatine “full-blown denial of reality.”

About 59% of Republican voters surveyed successful a nationalist CNN canvass conducted earlier this period accidental that “believing that Donald Trump won the 2020 election” is either a precise oregon somewhat important facet of being a Republican. That’s 3 retired of 5 self-identified Republicans saying that unless you judge a damnable lie, you are nary longer invited successful the club.

That’s weird, but the consequences are real. Last week, Republican Heidi Ganahl previewed the announcement of her uphill candidacy for politician of Colorado with a video of her virtually walking up a hill.

At Ganahl’s run kickoff lawsuit a fewer days later, The Colorado Sun’s Jesse Paul, The Denver Post’s Alex Burness, and 9News’s Marshall Zelinger each asked versions of the aforesaid question: Do you judge the result of the 2020 election?

Ganahl refused to answer, successful fact, Ganahl chastised Zelinger for asking a “divisive question.”

This whitethorn endear Ganahl to a bulk of Republicans, according to that CNN poll, but it volition alienate the remainder of Colorado voters. In survey aft survey, the immense bulk of Americans study that they judge President Joe Biden won the predetermination just and square, putting GOP candidates successful a superior hindrance — bash they pander to the delusions of Trump to triumph a superior election, oregon bash they reason conspiracy theories astir the 2020 predetermination to not alienate the remainder of the voting public?

So what does Ganahl truly believe? Does she correspond the 59% of her chap Republicans who deliberation it’s important to judge The Big Lie? Or, does she really cognize amended but would alternatively not reply a precise elemental question for fearfulness of angering the Trump base? Frankly, I’m not definite what’s worse, but it’s disqualifying either way.

Maybe this is wherefore determination is precisely 1 Republican with sanction designation who has announced a bid for politician successful Colorado. Republicans person nary challengers for treasurer oregon lawyer general. The lone Republican who filed for caput of authorities is immoderate feline who has a website that looks similar it was built erstwhile radical were inactive utilizing dial-up modems.

The information is, Colorado is becoming further and further retired of scope for statewide Republican candidates anyway. Colorado Republicans haven’t won a large statewide predetermination since 2014 erstwhile erstwhile U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner eked retired a triumph successful a GOP question twelvemonth by little than 2 points. Since then, it’s been a decease spiral for the right.

Republicans person to bash a batch of things close to get backmost successful the bully graces of Colorado voters. I can’t deliberation of a worse spot to commencement than believing, oregon worse, pretending the 2020 predetermination was stolen from Donald Trump.

Ian Silverii is the laminitis of The Bighorn Company, a dad, a husband, and the erstwhile manager of ProgressNow Colorado. Follow him connected Twitter @iansilverii.

To nonstop a missive to the exertion astir this article, taxable online oregon cheque retired our guidelines for however to taxable by email oregon mail.