Donald Trump lost Colorado by 13.5 percentage points in 2020. Since then, our state has continued to be Californicated as neo-liberals from around the country have flooded into my state, turning it cobalt-blue. Donald Trump has little to no chance of winning the Centennial state in 2024. So why ban him from the ballot?

Trump is the bait, while myself and scores of other down-ballot, Republican candidates are the actual targets of this initiative. By removing Trump from the top of our ticket, Democrats are effectively turning the 2024 presidential election into a midterm election.

In Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, the 2022 midterm turnout was 25.7% lower than in 2020. Some might blame that lower turnout on my primary opponent Lauren Boebert’s acerbic personality, but similar results occurred in the 4th Congressional District, where Ken Buck saw a 24.4% reduction in turnout.

Banning Trump from the top of our ticket will lead to a significant number of Colorado Republicans staying home next November, which will deleteriously affect every Republican candidate on the ticket, from Congressional races to state House and Senate, and county commissioner contests. All the way down to dog catchers.

Imagine if this initiative is adopted in a dozen other states with no action taken by the U.S. Supreme Court? Talk about destroying “our democracy!”

Russ Andrews

Carbondale