Rep. Meghan Lukens praised Colorado’s election systems as the Democrat and her Republican challenger Nathan Butler addressed national issues during candidate forum in Steamboat Springs
Republican Nathan Butler, a candidate for Colorado House District 26, said Thursday that he believes there were “instances of fraud” in the 2020 General Election, “but it was not to the extent that it would have effected the outcome.”
Butler, who attended Jan. 6 protests in Washington D.C. in 2021, said he sees “major problems” with Colorado’s practice of allowing ballot harvesting, a term that refers to the practice of allowing someone approved by the voter to turn in their ballot for them.
“As a whole, I think [elections] are safe; I think there is some integrity there,” Butler said. “We just need to make sure that our leadership is following through on what they are supposed to do.”
In response to the same question at Steamboat Pilot & Today’s candidate forum at Colorado Mountain College on Thursday night, Rep. Meghan Lukens, a Democrat, said she was proud of Colorado’s election system and that elections are “safe and secure.”
“In Colorado, we have the second highest voter turnout rate in the nation because our elections are safe, secure and accessible,” Lukens said. “I’m so proud of the system we have in the state of Colorado and I am so grateful to live in such an impressive democracy as the United State of America.”
Routt County election officials found one instance of a voter attempting to vote multiple times in the 2022 general election while conducting routine checks and balances of election results, according to a press release earlier this summer. Additional ballots cast were rejected and the individual pled guilty to mail-in ballot/election fraud in June of this year.
Candidates in the race to represent Northwest Colorado took on another issue in the national spotlight when asked about reproductive rights Thursday, specifically about proposed Amendment 79 enshrining abortion access in the Colorado Constitution.
“Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, state legislatures have been on the front lines in the abortion conversation and I am so proud Colorado remains a beacon of hope for women across the country seeking reproductive care,” Lukens said, adding that she would vote ‘yes’ on the amendment.
Lukens pointed to cases like that of Amber Thurman, a women who died in Georgia after doctors hesitated to perform a procedure in light of the state’s new law making performing an abortion a felony with few exceptions, according to reporting from ProPublica. The case was mentioned by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz during the Vice Presidential Debate earlier this month.
“I do not believe that the government should be infringing on a women’s right, a women’s freedom to make decisions about her own body,” Lukens said.
In his response to the same question, Butler tried to correct Lukens, saying that Thurman “failed to seek the medical care that she needed,” a comment that drew audible disagreement from attendees of the forum.
According to ProPublica reporting, an official state review committee concluded Thurman “should not have died,” and that the hospital delaying to operate for 20 hours had a “large” impact on her death.
“I’m not pushing for any kind of abortion ban at all. If it’s not what the people want, it’s not what the people want,” Butler said.
Butler said that he believes Colorado’s abortion laws have a loophole allowing a pregnancy to be aborted up until the umbilical cord is cut — a point he has consistently made during the campaign.
“My main concern, and the only thing that I am really pushing for is to close that loophole,” Butler said, saying that he believes this is a step voters want. “I’m not here to represent my personal opinions, I am here to represent the people. That’s what I plan to do. As long as abortion is what the people want in Colorado, you will not see me putting up a big fight.”
Energy transition
In response to a question about Northwest Colorado’s energy transition, Lukens said she supports an “all of the above” energy strategy.
“I believe that supporting our workforce can look in so many different ways,” Lukens said, touting two bills she worked on during her first term in the legislature she said support transitioning workers.
One bill seeks to study what Lukens called “advanced energy options” that could replace jobs in coal transitioning communities. Results from that study are expected next summer, she said.
“Green energy jobs are good jobs and I believe that energy is central to the culture and community in Hayden and Craig,” Lukens said.
Butler said he would turn to national partners to slow the closure of coal fired power plants if elected to the Colorado House, in response to a question about how to support workers impacted by closing mines and power plants.
“If we can get some new leadership in the presidential office, we might be able to declare coal a national strategic resource, which will at least at least buy us some time,” Butler said.
He said a lot of legislation coming from the Colorado House will include the word ‘now,’ which he said is inappropriate.
“Government is supposed to be slow because when we try to skip the process, when we try to jump the gun, we end up leaving people behind,” Butler said. “Let’s take a step back and relook at what we can do to keep these plants operating until we have these replacement industries in place so that we do not screw over the workers.”
Top Photo Caption: Rep. Meghan Lukens, a Democrat, and Republican challenger Nathan Butler participate in an election forum put on by Steamboat Pilot & Today on Thursday. (Dylan Anderson/The Yampa Valley Bugle)