Reporter Roundtable on Senate Race

Republican El Paso County Commissioner Darryl Glenn will challenge Democratic incumbent, Senator Michael Bennet this fall. Bente Birkeland sat down with political reporters to talk about Glenn’s success in the five-way GOP primary race, and what he and Bennet are now up against this November.

Reporter Roundtable on Senate Race kgnu

Republican El Paso County Commissioner Darryl Glenn will challenge Democratic incumbent, Senator Michael Bennet this fall. The relatively unknown attorney and Air Force veteran won a five-way primary race with nearly 40 percent of the vote. He billed himself has the true constitutional Christian conservative in the race and had the backing of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and Tex Senator Ted Cruz.

Here are highlights from Bente Birkeland’s conversation with political reporters to talk about the Senate race and what’s next.

On the Republican voters who propelled Glenn to victory in this relatively low turnout primary race:

John Frank- Denver Post:

“So the people that came out were die hard Republicans. These were people who heard Darryl Glenn at the state GOP convention, heard his rabble-rousing speech, and knew him from visiting tea party meetings and other party events in recent months. These are the people that supported him from the start. They showed up, he won. “

Megan Schrader- Colorado Springs Gazette:

“Darryl Glenn carried El Paso County, which really helped him. And part of that is he’s a known quantity in El Paso County. He’s been a long-time city council member, he was on the El Paso County Commission.”

On Glenn’s lackluster fundraising so far and his all-volunteer team:

John Frank- Denver Post:

“Darryl Glenn essentially starts the campaign flat broke and with very little campaign infrastructure….He has got to build a November campaign from scratch and doesn’t have much time to do it. Even his allies say he has to raise four million dollars on his own, and there’s no proof that he can reach that target.”

Megan Schrader- Colorado Springs Gazette:

“If there was an underdog who could pull it out it may be Darryl Glenn, who from the beginning has been underestimated, and was telling people, I can win this with a tank of gas. No-one thought he could beat two self- funded candidates the way he did in the primary.”