The two men vying for the 5th Congressional District seat being vacated by longtime Rep. Joel Hefley are state senator Doug Lamborn, a Republican, and retired Air Force Lt. Col. Jay Fawcett, a Democrat.
Lamborn, an attorney who has served 12 years in the Colorado legislature, is a social and fiscal conservative. Fawcett, a 1977 Air Force Academy graduate, has never held public office.
Since the 5th Congressional district was formed in 1972, no Democrat has ever won the seat. But a recent poll by The Denver Post showed the two tied with 37 percent of the vote.
Republicans outnumber Democrats by more than a two-to-one margin. The six-county district has 189,942 registered Republicans; 89,182 registered Democrats and 132,606 unaffiliated voters. The majority of the voters – 346,929 – are in El Paso County, where an estimated 40 percent of the economy is linked to the defense industry.
Sparks flew in the race in September when Rep. Joel Hefley, who had served the district for 20 years before announcing his retirement in February, said that tactics used by the Lamborn campaign in a contentious Republican primary, were “sleazy and dishonest.”
Fawcett’s campaign has incorporated Hefley’s comments into ads airing on Colorado Springs radio stations.
Lamborn is a pro-life, pro-marriage conservative who said he will never support a tax increase if elected to Congress.
“I’m running for Congress because we need more principled men and women of integrity who will reduce the tax burden, reign in government spending, stop illegal immigration and most importantly keep America safe by winning the War on Terror,” said Lamborn, who won a contentious Republican primary Aug. 8, beating the nearest competitor, Jeff Crank, by 915 votes.
“During my 12 years of service in the Colorado State House and Senate, I have kept my word to the voters and been recognized as a respected leader on virtually every issue that we care about most in Southern Colorado,” Lamborn said.
Fawcett served 20 years in the Air Force before retiring in 1998. He flew a helicopter during the initial assault into Iraq during the first Gulf War and was awarded a bronze star for his actions.
“Given the fact that America is at war right now, we need more Congress people who understand what civilian oversight means in a time of war,” said Wanda James, campaign manager for Fawcett. “In this district, there are five military bases and seven commands here, and Jay has worked on all of the bases. He’s an Air Force Academy graduate who has already put out a written plan for the global war on terrorism.”
Fawcett currently works for SAIC – Science Applications International Corp. – at U.S. Northern Command on Peterson Air Force base.
“Jay is a published author on the downfalls and the pitfalls of Katrina and how to fix the problems. He’s a given expert on homeland security and keeping America safe and strengthening families,” James said.
Erin Emery can be reached at 719-522-1360 or eemery@denverpost.com
