Republican U.S. Senate candidate Eli Bremer has been endorsed by 71 current and former county commissioners representing more than half of the counties in Colorado, his campaign said Thursday.
The former El Paso County GOP chairman and 2008 Olympian is one of seven Republicans running for the nomination to challenge U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, a Democrat seeking his third term in November.
Bremer's slate includes 57 current and 14 former commissioners from 35 of Colorado's 64 counties, though Bremer's campaign points out that only 45 of those counties have Republicans on their county commissioner boards. In all, Bremer has the support of 45% of the state's GOP commissioners, including every Republican elected in 11 counties.
“I look up to local elected leaders like county commissioners," Bremer said in a statement. "They are the people on the ground, implementing federal and state policy, distributing federal and state funds, and navigating the vast programs and regulations of the city, county, state and country they serve."
Bremer noted that his wife, El Paso County Commissioner Cami Bremer, and his father, former El Paso County Commissioner Duncan Bremer, are on the list.
"Local control is a core principle of my governance philosophy," he added. "I will push to reduce regulations and unfunded mandates from the federal level to allow local governments to take control and implement the policies best for their community. I plan to utilize my supporting county commissioners to gain perspective, take advice and solicit input on policy when I get to Washington, D.C."
The announcement comes just over three weeks before Bremer will compete with five other Republicans at the April 9 state GOP assembly for a ticket to Colorado's June 28 primary.
Bremer said the broad support from officials who are often the leading Republicans in their counties demonstrates his strength heading into the assembly, where candidates need support of 30% of delegates to advance to the primary election.
"Because of these commissioners and their belief in my campaign, we have built extensive grassroots support across the state. Their support will be important over the campaign cycle, especially as we go into the assembly process," he said. "Strong grassroots support is essential to success over the next few weeks and in the primary this June.”
Bremer added that his campaign has won endorsements from more commissioners than backed 2018 GOP gubernatorial nominee Walker Stapleton, the former two-term state treasurer who counted 50 commissioners from 33 counties and won top-line on the primary ballot at the assembly.
“Within 45 minutes of the first time I met Eli, I knew this man could win a U.S. Senate seat," said Weld County Commissioner Steve Moreno in a statement. "He can inspire people and give them hope that we can win this state back and stop the ridiculous policies of the Democrats. He has the ability to speak and build coalitions with people who have not traditionally voted Republican."
Added Moreno: "This year can be a wave election for Republicans if we know how to talk about the issues that people care about. I look forward to working with Eli to bring energy independence and good jobs back to Weld County, Colorado and America.”
The other Senate candidates courting Republican delegates at next month's assembly are state Rep. Ron Hanks, Fort Collins real estate developer Gino Campana, former talk radio host and nonprofit leader Deborah Flora, former congressional candidate Peter Yu and political science professor Greg Moore.
Construction company owner Joe O'Dea is the only potential Bennet challenger who circulated petitions in hopes of making the ballot. The first-time candidate, who has poured at least $500,000 into his own campaign, turned in 23,000 signatures on Monday, a day ahead of the deadline. In Colorado, candidates for U.S. senator and governor need to submit 12,000 valid signatures from fellow party members, including 1,500 from each of the state’s eight congressional districts.
Below are the current and former commissioners endorsing Bremer, including three whose support his campaign announced earlier:
Alamosa County Commissioner Lori Laske; former Arapahoe County Commissioners Kathleen Conti and Lynn Myers; Archuleta County Commissioners Warren Brown, Ron Maez and Alvin Schaaf; Baca County Commissioners Spike Ausmus, Rick Butler and Shiloh Freed; Bent County Commissioners Kim MacDonnell and Chuck Netherton; Chaffee County Commissioner Rusty Granzella; Clear Creek County Commissioner Sean Wood; Crowley County Commissioners Blaine Arbuthnot, Roy Elliot and Terry McMillian; former Crowley County Commissioner Matt Heimerich; Custer County Commissioners Bill Canda, and Tom Flower; Delta County Commissioner Wendell Koontz; El Paso County Commissioners Cami Bremer, Stan VanderWef and Holly Williams; former El Paso County Commissioners Duncan Bremer, Ed Jones and Mark Waller; Fremont County Commissioners Kevin Grantham and Dwayne McFall; former Fremont County Commissioner Tim Payne; Garfield County Commissioner John Martin; Grand County Commissioners Merrit Linke and Kris Manguso; Huerfano County Commissioner John Galusha; Jackson County Commissioners Coby Corkle and Dan Manville; Kiowa County Commissioner Donald Oswald; Kit Carson County Commissioners Stan Hitchcock, Dave Hornung and Cory Wall; former Kit Carson County Commissioner Gary Koop; former Lake County Commissioner Mark Glenn, Former; Lincoln County Commissioners Ed Schifferns and Doug Stone; Logan County Commissioner Joe McBride; Mineral County Commissioner Jesse Albright and Ramona Weber; Montezuma County Commissioners Gerald Koppenhafer and Kent Lindsay; Montrose County Commissioners Keith Caddy, Sue Hansen and Roger Rash; Morgan County Commissioner Gordon Westhoff; Otero County Commissioner John Hostetler; Park County Commissioners Ray Douglas and Dick Elsner; Phillips County Commissioner Terry Hofmeister; former Phillips County Commissioner Don Lock; Provers County Commissioners Wendy Buxton-Andrade, Ron Cook and Tom Grasmick; Rio Blanco County Commissioner Ty Gates; former Rio Grande County Commissioner Suzanna Bothell; Sedgewick County Commissioners William Howard McCormick and Don Schneider; Teller County Commissioners Bob Campbell and Dan Williams; former Teller County Commissioners Dave Paul and Norm Steen; former Washington Cyn French; and Weld County Commissioners Mike Freeman and Steve Moreno.