As the long, costly and at times bloody fight among the three Democrats vying for the 2nd Congressional District seat winds down, all campaigns are putting on positive faces and scrambling to energize their supporters.
But the past few weeks have seen entrepreneur Jared Polis and former state Sen. Joan Fitz-Gerald lobbing political grenades at one another, the effectiveness of which will be seen Tuesday, primary day.
As the explosions reverberate, conservationist Will Shafroth has stayed out of the fray — and touted that fact in his latest commercial.
Fitz-Gerald, recently attacked for supporting environmentally questionable mining techniques, said voters are more concerned with big-picture issues such as war and the economy than with narrow political strikes.
“Voters are . . . focused on what’s missing and what hasn’t been done in Congress,” she said, touting her state-legislature experience.
Still, she criticized Polis repeatedly for election buying. The Internet millionaire became one of the nation’s largest self-funders this year by putting $5.3 million of his personal fortune in his campaign. The congressional primary race became the second-most-expensive in the country as a consequence.
For his sizeable investment, Polis said he hopes for a chance to work on national and international problems in return.
“This is our democracy we’re talking about,” Polis said. “I look forward to working long days and long weeks to make sure . . . every American has an opportunity and we turn this country around.”
Both Shafroth and Fitz-Gerald set Colorado records for primary fundraising, bringing in more than $1 million apiece.
The candidates still have a gantlet of get-out-the-vote efforts and outreach to run.
Shafroth said he has campaigned for 494 days straight, not that he’s counting, and stayed positive the entire time.
His campaign has shown his abilities to stay civil and work with others — a message that he hopes will resonate with voters fed up with negative politics, he said.
“I’ve modeled the behavior I want to have in Congress,” Shafroth said. “It’s a shame that campaigns today go so negative. It doesn’t serve the purpose of democracy.”
Jessica Fender: 303-954-1244 or jfender@denverpost.com
