PRO-CHOICE COLORADANS ENDORSE JOE O’DEA

 

Dear Colorado Voters -

Joe O’Dea is a different kind of candidate – and a different kind of Republican, too.

And as every major news publication in the country has reported, Joe O’Dea supports abortion rights.  

  • O’Dea supported Roe v. Wade and opposed the Supreme Court decision overturning it;

  • O’Dea supports a woman’s right to choose in the first 20-weeks of pregnancy;

  • O’Dea opposes elective late term abortion with exceptions for rape, incest, and medical necessity;

  • O’Dea supports parental notification requirements for minors, like the law that has been on the books in Colorado for many years; and he opposes taxpayer funding for abortion.

During the heat of the Republican Primary, Joe famously went into a large conference full of pro-life voters and told them directly: “I know my position on abortion isn’t the same as all of yours.” He made the case for their vote based on a shared commitment to adoption – Joe was adopted at birth – and because of broad agreement they shared on issues like inflation, crime, and the border. Democrats with direct ties to Senator Michael Bennet’s closest allies in the United States Senate spent millions attacking Joe for his position on abortion rights, hoping his moderate view would convince Republican Primary voters to nominate someone else. They spent $10 million. The cynical ploy backfired. Joe O’Dea won a landslide victory in the primary.

Now the same groups are spending millions trying to convince voters of the exact opposite of what they said mere months ago. They are attacking him for his opposition to late term abortion, claiming that it is the same as supporting a total ban on abortion. Of course, these two views are different. 

For example, Senator Bennet is running an ad where he clips a quote from Joe: “I think you’ll see me help move the pro-life movement forward.” The clip the Bennet campaign used is Joe and Dan Caplis having a discussion on the radio. Joe told Dan he supported abortion rights. But in that clip, Joe told Dan he would move the cause of pro-life voters forward by working with them on expanding adoption. This is personal to Joe; he is adopted. And, he will indeed work to forward adoption, because he does what he says he will do.

If you are trying to decide who to support for Senate, please know this: Joe is pro-choice – in a thoughtful and balanced way. Even if you do not agree with him on that issue, please look deeper: we think you will find him to be aligned with you on many other issues, and the right candidate for Colorado.

Joe O’Dea has guts, independence, integrity, and the ability to represent our state in Washington DC.  We endorse his candidacy.

SIGNERS

Hank Brown
Former U.S. Senator

Marcy Benson
Community Leader

Heidi Gill
President, Urban Solutions Group

Erin Goff
Principal, Husch Blackwell Strategies

Lynn Granger
Executive Director, API Colorado

Rebecca Love Kourlis
Former Justice, Colorado Supreme Court

Gale Norton
Former Colorado Attorney General