Republican Heidi Ganahl enters 2022 Colorado governor’s race

Heidi Ganahl, the CU regent and Colorado Republicans’ stake to instrumentality down Gov. Jared Polis successful 2022, said Colorado is successful diminution arsenic she kicked disconnected her run Tuesday greeting successful Monument.

“I’m conscionable heartbroken implicit what’s happening to our state. I spot everything going successful the incorrect direction,” she told reporters astatine Rosie’s Diner, arguing that transgression indispensable beryllium curtailed and that Polis is an obstacle to idiosyncratic upward mobility. “At immoderate constituent you’ve got to rise your manus and beryllium the alteration you privation to spot successful Colorado.”

The 55-year-old, who besides refused to accidental whether she accepts the 2020 statesmanlike predetermination results, made small concealed of her candidacy, expanding her statewide visibility by penning a file for the Colorado Springs Gazette and hosting a podcast called Heidi’s Colorful Colorado. For months, Republican leaders person for months spoken of her arsenic the party’s champion idiosyncratic to spell up against the 46-year-old politician successful 2022.

Any shred of enigma remaining regarding plans vanished Friday erstwhile her run filed with the Secretary of State’s Office.

Republicans clasp less electoral power successful Colorado than immoderate constituent since World War II, astir which Ganahl said: “I deliberation we person to connection our level better, and however we hole the problems of Colorado.”

On Saturday, authorities enactment officials volition ballot connected a arguable connection to extremity unfastened primaries connected the GOP side, which would exclude millions of voters from the process of selecting its nominees for large offices. Ganahl declined to instrumentality a broadside successful that debate, and besides declined to accidental whether she believed the 2020 statesmanlike predetermination was conducted legitimately.

“I’m not going to get into that close now,” she said. Many authorities lawmakers accidental predetermination integrity is simply a problem, and a smaller faction question whether the predetermination was outright stolen.

Ganahl serves connected the University of Colorado Board of Regents and is the lone remaining Republican that holds a statewide elected bureau successful Colorado. She won that spot successful 2016, topping erstwhile House Speaker Alice Madden by 4 points and outperforming erstwhile President Donald Trump.

If she wins this contention she’ll go the archetypal pistillate politician successful authorities history, and conscionable the 2nd elected Republican politician of Colorado since 1975.

Addressing a fewer twelve supporters successful the diner parking batch during her astir 15-minute speech, Ganahl called retired what she sees are the issues successful Colorado.

“Higher state prices, intelligence wellness crisis, inflation, unemployment, caller taxes, much convulsive transgression — this each shows a pattern: Jared Polis is listening to his enactment elites, his friends successful San Francisco, D.C. and New York,” she said.

Ganahl didn’t bounds her criticisms to out-of-state cities, arguing Colorado is drifting toward Boulder’s Pearl Street and distant from the proverbial Main Street. In summation to insulting the governor’s hometown, she criticized him arsenic affluent and out-of-touch. But adjacent Ganahl has openly admitted taking down a big-spending incumbent similar Polis volition beryllium difficult.

“He’s smart, nary question, and a bully politician,” she said, adding that helium “doesn’t get the ascent due to the fact that he’s ne'er had to climb. Remember that metallic spoon?”

Polis is worthy hundreds of millions and is the lad of parents who founded a palmy integer institution earlier the dot-com bubble burst. But Ganahl is simply a multimillionaire, too.

After her archetypal hubby died successful a 1994 level crash, Ganahl founded the favored attraction work Camp Bow Wow, which grew exponentially until she sold it to carnal wellness attraction elephantine VCA successful 2014, soon earlier entering authorities politics.

She’s present a parent of four, and joined to Jason Ganahl, who founded Colorado businesses GQue BBQ and Ice Cream Farm.

RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post

Republican Heidi Ganahl, center, speaks with a protagonist aft announcing she volition tally for Colorado politician during an lawsuit astatine Rosie’s Diner successful Monument connected Sept. 14, 2021.

As a regent, Ganahl has been a staunch defender of the blimpish position connected campus, speaking retired against what she sees arsenic the marginalization of blimpish students. She besides publicly supported erstwhile CU Boulder visiting student John Eastman, a instrumentality prof who tried to assistance Trump overturn 2020 predetermination results.

Earlier this summer, she told The Denver Post that her podcast, connected which she interviews Coloradans from galore walks of life, is portion of her broader effort to observe the diverseness of thought she laments is missing connected campus.

After Democrats took power of the Board of Regents successful 2020 and fired Republican and then-CU strategy President Mark Kennedy, Ganahl alleged that helium was forced retired “for the precocious transgression of not being a Democrat oregon left-wing academic.”

Colorado Democratic Party spokesperson Nico Delgado was speedy with a connection astir Ganahl’s announcement connected Tuesday, saying she “can’t fell her agelong way grounds of being successful lockstep with Donald Trump, Cory Gardner, Lauren Boebert and the far-right fringe.”

“Ganahl’s relation with right-wing politicians and groups doesn’t lucifer up with her dishonest rebrand — and Coloradans volition spot close done it,” helium added.