Eli Bremer, a consultant and former Olympic athlete, officially launched his 2022 Senate campaign on Tuesday. The Colorado Springs Republican seeks the GOP nomination to challenge U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, a Democrat who has served since 2009.
“Having twice worn the uniform of our nation – in the military and in the Olympics – I am concerned that the country I have represented is being sold out by self-interested politicians,” Bremer, an Air Force veteran, said in a Tuesday statement. “We deserve a senator who wants to be a voice for Colorado rather than climbing the political ladder.”
Bremer competed in the modern pentathlon event at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics. He has worked as an Olympic sports announcer for NBC and advocated for reforms to the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee in the wake of a sex-abuse scandal.
A former chairman of the El Paso County GOP, Bremer has helped with “fundraising for federal candidates in swing districts across the nation,” and he worked on the campaigns of Jeb Bush and Donald Trump, according to Bremer’s website.
Bremer joins Erik Aadland, who registered his Senate campaign in June, in the race for the Republican Senate candidacy.
Aadland is an Army veteran who reported raising $14,200 by June 30, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission. He ended the quarter with $15,300 cash on hand. Aadland’s career in the oil and natural gas industry included managing onshore construction of the Leviathan offshore natural gas field in Dor, Israel, according to his website. His campaign registered a mailing address in Littleton.
Republicans Peter Yu and Juli Henry have also declared their candidacies for the Senate seat.
Bennet represents a formidable opponent for the Republicans, having raised $2.61 million in the first half of 2021. As of June 30, Bennet’s Senate campaign committee had about $2.3 million cash on hand.
Bennet campaigned in 2019 and 2020 for the Democratic presidential nomination, but withdrew in February 2020 after failing to draw much national interest.
In the Senate, Bennet helped lead a push to include the newly expanded Child Tax Credit program in the COVID-19 relief legislation passed earlier this year. He has continued to advocate for keeping the Bureau of Land Management headquarters in Grand Junction – after the agency’s controversial move during the Trump administration – and recently proposed boosting federal funding for forest and grassland restoration projects.
In a statement Tuesday, Colorado Democratic Party spokesperson Nico Delgado derided Bennet’s Republican opponents.
“While these flawed and inexperienced candidates exacerbate the chaos within the GOP, Coloradans will be reminded why Republicans have lost almost every statewide seat and majority in recent years,” Delgado said.
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