July 14, 2023 02:50 PM UTC

Scott James Launches CO-08 Campaign Into Brick Wall

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• by: Colorado Pols

The Colorado Democratic Party today announced a new campaign effort — dubbed “The Horizon Project” — to protect incumbent Democratic Rep. Yadira Caraveo in CO-08 (Northern Colorado). According to a press release:

The Colorado Democratic Party, in collaboration with Attorney General Phil Weiser, is launching an unprecedented new effort to train and deploy organizers in Colorado’s Eighth Congressional District (CO-8). This unprecedented investment of resources and training will put skilled organizers on the ground over a year ahead of the 2024 General Election, and in advance of this fall’s critical elections across the district…

…Despite our great successes in 2022, thousands of registered Democrats who typically vote in every election did not vote that year. This program will be especially dedicated to ensuring that these voters are reactivated in time to participate in local elections this fall, and also prepared to vote in 2024’s election.

This is a well-timed kickoff considering the recent movement that we have seen in CO-08 on the Republican side of the ledger. Earlier this week, 2022 Republican candidate Barbara Kirkmeyer announced that she would NOT be running for Congress again in 2024 despite losing to Caraveo by less than 2,000 votes last November. Kirkmeyer decided to bow out of the race in part because Colorado Republican Party Chairman Dave Williams threatened to find a Libertarian candidate to oppose Kirkmeyer if she had decided to run.

Kirkmeyer was the second of the several 2022 Republican candidates to decide not to run again in 2024, joining Thornton Mayor Jan Kulmann on the sidelines. Kulmann provided a particularly lame excuse to Colorado Community Media regarding her decision to skip the race in 2024:

“I am not doing it because I am not a partisan politician. That is the lesson I learned running for Congress,” Kulmann said…

…“I thought being a mayor, I could bring non-partisan politics to Congress and I was wrong. Nobody wants that. They wanted a show and that’s not who I am. So I enjoy being the mayor because it has not been partisan.”

This is, of course, very silly. Kulmann is the very definition of a “partisan politician” — she finished behind Kirkmeyer in last June’s Republican Primary, for crying out loud — and there’s no way she actually believes that nonsense line that SHE could bring “non-partisan politics to Congress.”

Anyway, all of this brings us to Weld County Commissioner Scott James, who announced this week that he is running for the Republican nomination in CO-08. As Ernest Luning reports for the publication formerly known as the Colorado Statesman:

The veteran radio personality and chairman of the county GOP filed paperwork for the seat hours after Republican state Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer, who narrowly lost the election to Caraveo last year, announced that she won’t seek a rematch and will instead run for reelection to the legislature.

“I am running for Congress because I believe in my fellow Coloradans,” James said in a statement. “I believe in our rugged individualism and the dreams we have for our families. I believe in our commitment to freedom and the rule of law. I believe we deserve a government that is as good as the people it is elected to serve.”

James co-hosts Scott and Sadie, a popular weekday morning radio show on Big 97.9 FM, a country music station that broadcasts in northern Colorado. He won reelection last year to a second term on the county commission after serving four terms on the Johnstown town council and one term as the town’s mayor. [Pols emphasis]

Make sure you read that last paragraph before we move along any further…

Got it? Okay, here’s what James said next:

“I’m not a politician. I’m just a guy who has been given a gift to communicate and a calling to serve.”

SCOTT JAMES HAS BEEN A POLITICIAN FOR TWENTY YEARS!!!

James was elected to the Johnstown City Council in 2002 and was re-elected three more times before winning a race for Mayor and then running for Weld County Commissioner. He won a second term as Commissioner in 2022.

This is a ridiculous statement to make, but James is quite skilled at saying stupid crap.

As a long-time Colorado opposition researcher, I have exactly one thing to say about this announcement:

Lmao, y’all still haven’t figured out how to vet, @cologop #copolitics https://t.co/lYrrXz023F

— Logan M. Davis (@LoganMDavis) July 12, 2023

As Luning continues:

Caraveo’s campaign declined to comment on James’ candidacy, but Colorado Democratic Party Chairman Shad Murib didn’t hesitate to lob some attacks.

“Scott James has said that women having the freedom to make their own health care choices caused ‘the rapid decline of civilization,’ and even supports sheriffs skirting their responsibility to enforce life-saving gun safety laws,” Murib told Colorado Politics in a text message. 

Murib was referring to remarks James made as a talk radio host more than a decade ago and James’ support for a resolution declaring Weld County a “Second Amendment sanctuary,” allowing its law enforcement officers to refuse to enforce certain state gun laws. [Pols emphasis]

James has had a long career as a radio host, and he is currently a morning DJ/host on Big 97.9, a country music station in Northern Colorado. As former Republican candidate George Brauchler can tell you, running for office after spending years spewing idiotic statements on the radio normally ends up biting you in the ass.

Here’s what The Colorado Sun had to say about James in its “Unaffiliated” newsletter:

We’re sure plenty more will come out about James as the 2024 election cycle heats up. Democratic consultant Logan Davis posted on Twitter, in reaction to James’ campaign announcement, that Republicans “still haven’t figured out how to vet.” Some Democratic leaders were already starting to circulate opposition research on Thursday.

From what we hear (and what everyone else hears, apparently), James is gift from the opposition research gods. This alone would be bad enough news for Republicans, but James’ kickoff statements seem to indicate that he is always more than willing to say whateverthefuck pops into his head.

This is not would we would call a recipe for electoral success for Republicans. Then again, neither was selecting Dave Williams to be the Chair of the Colorado Republican Party.

Perhaps the Colorado GOP can go with a new slogan for 2024: “Together, Into the Abyss!”