3 NOVEMBER 2020
Coloradans Reject Trump & Gardner, Elect Pro-Immigrant Candidates Across the Board
WASHINGTON, D.C.— Colorado voters today delivered a decisive victory for democracy and justice by rejecting President Donald Trump’s bid for reelection along with a chief enabler, Senator Cory Gardner. For four years, Gardner was one of Trump’s most loyal followers as the president unleashed unprecedented attacks on immigrants. Colorado voters, especially Latino voters, came out in historic numbers to reject Trump and Gardner.
“Coloradans have waited four long years for the moment to send Trump and Cory Gardner packing,” said Sergio Gonzales, Deputy Director of the Immigration Hub. “From every issue including DACA, the border wall and family separation, Coloradans have wholeheartedly rejected the chaotic and racist policies of this administration. Not only did moderate voters reject Trump and Congressional Republicans' anti-immigrant agenda, Latinos were central in fueling a resounding win for Democrats up and down the ballot. This victory is nothing less than a mandate for major reforms including citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the U.S.”
In the closing months of the campaign, Gardner repeatedly tried to run away from his record as a Trump loyalist. However, voters knew that Senator Gardner has been a rubber stamp for President Trump’s xenophobic agenda. He repeatedly enabled Trump’s actions and failed to hold the administration accountable for some of its most insidious anti-immigrant attacks including separating families at the border, gross negligence and abuses in detention centers, and diverting funds from Colorado to the border wall. Even amid the worst public health and economic crisis in recent history, especially for Black and Latino communities, Gardner and his Republican colleagues have refused to pass much-needed relief legislation. As the pandemic took its toll on Colorado’s essential industries, the JBS meat packing plant in Greeley temporarily closed down just before Trump ordered that the plant remain open, dismissing the fact that over 100 employees contracted COVID-19 and at least five died. The reality for Senator Gardner is that he lost his chance to win this election when he chose loyalty to Trump over Colorado, and nothing made that more clear than his vote to give Trump “emergency powers” and move money from critical Colorado projects to the wall, that of course Mexico was supposed to pay for. From that point forward, Gardner and Trump were joined at the hip, and today’s results are proof of that.
Colorado Republicans ignored the writing on the wall: in poll after poll, the majority of Colorado voters, including swing voters, disapprove of Trump’s handling of immigration and support pro-immigration solutions, such as a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. In 2018 the Colorado electorate dismissed Walker Stapleton, Mike Coffman and their alignment with Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric (i.e. migrant caravan “invasion”) and policies. Sentiment on the issue among the state’s swing voters has been shifting and influencing vote choice:
According to the 2020 American Election Eve poll, Latinos in Colorado voted for Joe Biden over Donald Trump 73%-24% and voted for Democrat John Hickenlooper over Republican Cory Gardner 67%-23%.
A recent Immigration Hub ad test among Colorado swing voters, conducted by BlueLabs, revealed that the president’s record on immigration moved voters away from President Trump and towards Joe Biden. In fact, a head-to-head, Joe Biden gains votes on his vision for immigration against Trump’s ad.
A new poll — which interviewed 1,164 registered voters — echoed past research: 60% of Colorado voters agree that an economic recovery bill should include a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrant workers who have been essential to the pandemic response. Nearly two-thirds of voters (66%) prefer citizenship over deportation (27%).
Immigration Hub’s voter study, conducted by Civis Analytics, identified nearly 6 million voters across Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Colorado that move to vote against Trump when exposed to pro-immigration messaging. The most persuadable voters were primarily suburban, white, not college-educated, and male -- the same voters Trump was banking on.
Across the board, Colorado’s election results represented a full-throated rejection of Donald Trump and his hateful agenda. In Colorado’s 6th Congressional District, Congressman Jason Crow was reelected despite a wave of attacks from his opponent, Steve House, for Crow’s support and votes in favor of pro-immigrant policies. Just last month, House published an op-ed attacking Crow for calling for an end to for-profit detention centers and attempted to villainize immigrants and stoke fear with voters. In 2018, Crow withstood similar attacks to defeat incumbent Mike Coffman and flip the historically Republican district for the first time in history.
In historic fashion, Colorado voters not only elected pro-immigrant candidates to represent this diverse state, but also rejected candidates who sought to govern and peddle in the same hateful rhetoric as Trump. Voters sent a very clear message and tonight’s results should also be considered a mandate to do right by Latino and immigrant communities to reform the country’s immigration system with policies and laws rooted in humanity and American values.
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The Immigration Hub is a national organization dedicated to advancing fair and just immigration policies through strategic leadership, innovative communications strategies, legislative advocacy and collaborative partnerships.