Healthcare, state redistricting, the U.S. Supreme Court’s structure and other issues familiar to Colorado and national voters were among the subjects raised at an Indivisible Durango debate featuring Democratic challengers to Colorado Congressional District 3 U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd last weekend.
Democratic challengers Alex Kelloff and Dwayne Romero answered lightning-round and slightly longer-form questions during the debate at the Durango Public Library on Saturday.
Indivisible Durango was ready with a list of questions compiled with feedback from the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, La Plata County Health Alliance, La Plata County commissioners, The Good Food Collective and water experts.
The candidates appeared to have similar stances on many subjects, although disagreements surfaced from time to time.
Romero and Kelloff found themselves in similar positions when asked why they had each donated $1,000 to at least one Republican’s campaign over the last decade.
Romero said he donated to U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick (Pennsylvania) in 2024 because McCormick was a classmate at U.S. Military Academy West Point and a fellow service member.
“We both became combat engineer officers together, we went to ranger school together, we fought in combat together,” Romero said. “Dave McCormick is truly one of my deep brothers of arms. I know Dave to be a good, solid man, and I also know that sometimes it’s not red or blue, it’s the Army green. So I made that donation to him and that was good.”
Kelloff said his donation was to his cousin – not U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (Kentucky), whose campaign received the money. In 2019, Kelloff’s then 27-year-old cousin called him for a donation. Kelloff made the donation because his cousin was starting his career as a political fundraiser and he happened to be raising money for McConnell.
He said McConnell already had a large war chest and his donation made no difference in McConnell’s campaign. Meanwhile, he said, McCormick’s race was “the closest Senate race in the country,” flipped a blue seat red, and McCormick would become one of the key voters for the Trump administration’s Big Beautiful Bill Act.
During a lightning round, Kelloff and Romero said they agreed climate change is real, that vaccinations for children are important and women’s reproductive rights are fundamental healthcare needs.
They both said the Trump administration’s Big Beautiful Bill must be repealed and members of Congress need restrictions on insider trading – with Romero adding dark monies should be opposed, and Kelloff adding congressmembers should be banned from participating in prediction markets.
Both candidates said they do not support President Donald Trump’s controversial SAVE (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility) Act that proposes requiring proof of citizenship upon registration for federal elections.
Romero and Kelloff each said they support restrictions for Citizens United, which according to the Brennan Center for Justice “reversed century-old campaign finance restrictions and enabled corporations and other outside groups to spend unlimited money on elections.”
The candidates broke from lockstep during the lightning round when asked whether they supported modifying or ending the current U.S. Supreme Court’s structure.
Romero simply answered “no.”
On the subject of food security and how he would ensure the next federal farm bill helps low-income families while also helping small- and medium-sized farmers, ranchers and local businesses that serve their communities, Romero said the farm bill should not be subsidizing big agriculture and corporations like Monsanto.
He said the farm bill should focus on locals and connecting “the last mile” between local farmers and ranchers and low-income communities.
Kelloff agreed the farm bill should not subsidize big agriculture. He would like to see the “value chain” retained in CD3.
He said the San Luis Valley, for example, has a lot of ranchers but no meat processing plants. He suggested incentives through cooperatives or other methods to retain or build value chains, create jobs and provide locally processed meat to farmers markets and grocery stores.
Kelloff said water also needs to be kept in CD3
“We’re shipping too much water down to the lower basin states which are going to big alfalfa farmers owned by Saudis and Russians. We’re effectively exporting our water and we need to stop that,” he said.
cburney@durangoherald.com
